


The New Jedi

by myrlendi (thehistorygeek)



Series: Twin Suns [4]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Luke and Leia Switched, Canon-Typical Violence, Gen, Luke Organa, Minor Luke Skywalker/Lando Calrissian, leia skywalker - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-09
Updated: 2018-06-23
Packaged: 2019-04-20 17:53:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 9
Words: 41,854
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14266443
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thehistorygeek/pseuds/myrlendi
Summary: Determined to rescue Han Solo from the clutches of Jabba the Hutt, Leia Skywalker has returned with her friends to her home planet of Tatooine. Across the galaxy, the Empire is hard at work on their newest weapon--a second Death Star, even larger and more powerful than the first. Once completed, it will spell certain doom for both the young Jedi and the Rebel Alliance as a whole...A rewrite of Return of the Jedi, if Luke was adopted by Bail and Breha Organa and Leia was raised by Owen and Beru.





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey!! this fic is a sequel to The Empire's Revenge and Another Hope, rewrites of The Empire Strikes Back and A New Hope, respectively, so if this the first time you're reading this series I recommend you go back and read those two first. there's also a prequel called Twin Suns, about Luke and Leia's separate childhoods, but it's not necessary to understand the rest of the series.

The suns above Tatooine burned bright, shining down on the scorched planet. Hot gusts of air blew into Luke’s face, kicked up by the rusted old speeder bike he rode on. Fine particles of sand swirled around him, carried by the breeze, and he was, for the first time since setting out, thankful for the heavy scarves wrapped around his face and the dark goggles over his eyes. He felt as if he was cooking alive in his armour, and sweat trickled down his back as he and Chewbacca made their way to the domed palace in the distance.

Luke did not remember much from his first visit to Tatooine — it had been short, and he had spent most of it unconscious. But his journey along the narrow dirt road to Jabba’s Palace told him that he had not missed much. The “road” could hardly even be called such; it was mostly just a low, flat section of land, surrounded on either side by small craggy hills of dirt. Everywhere he looked was brown — the ground in front of him, the hills ahead, the palace, Chewie. Even Luke himself was dressed in heavy brown robes, overlaid by rusted metal armour. The only colour to be found was the pale blue of the cloudless sky.

Beside him, Chewie let out a high growl, and Luke slowed his speeder to a stop. They were growing closer to the palace, and would have to abandon their bikes and continue on foot. The dust they were kicking up would make their approach visible from miles away. They rode the speeders off the road, leaving them behind a rock that would keep them mostly-hidden from anyone who might wander past. Luke only hoped that they would be able to find them again, lest the angry Dug he rented them from came after him.

The rest of the way to the palace was long and hot. Luke remembered Leia’s stories of spending days out in the suns during her childhood, fixing moisture vaporators on her uncle’s farm, and he wondered how she hadn’t died of heat stroke before even reaching adolescence. Chewie seemed equally miserable, panting heavily beneath his thick fur coat, and Luke watched him carefully, slightly worried that, despite his formidable constitution, the heat would prove too much for the Wookiee.

As they came into sight of the palace, they paused momentarily so that Luke could place a metal collar around Chewie’s neck, attached to a short chain that he held tightly in his hands. Chewie grumbled unhappily as the collar snapped shut, and Luke gave him a sympathetic pat on the arm before they carried on.

They reached the palace not long after that. It was much bigger up close than it had appeared from a distance, the great stone walls towering high. The few windows carved into the side of the building were several metres above the ground, and the only way in appeared to be through a ginormous metal gate, larger than the entrances to most hangars. Luke paused before it, taking a moment to compose himself, before rapping one knuckle against the rusted metal.

It echoed slightly, and a moment later one of the many circular divots adorning the door opened and a robotic eye-stalk shot out, shoving itself in Luke’s face. He took a surprised step back as the eye began speaking, talking rather quickly in a language he didn’t recognize but assumed was Huttese. It seemed to be asking him a question.

“I am here to see Jabba the Hutt,” he announced, his voice altered by the vocoder mask hidden beneath his scarves. It automatically translated his speech into the harsh, scraping tones of Ubese, having been pilfered from the mask of a Ubese bounty hunter some months ago. The actual mask itself had been too small for him to wear.

The eye said something in rapid Huttese, retreating a bit to observe both him and Chewbacca.

“I’ve come to collect a bounty,” Luke explained, tugging slightly on the chain. “I heard that Jabba has been after this Wookiee for some time now.”

The eye was silent for a moment, before it shot back into the hole it had emerged from, the metal lid snapping into place behind it. Several seconds passed, and nothing happened. Chewie let out a confused whimper, but Luke quickly hushed him. Another second passed, and then a deep metallic groan came from within the palace as the gate slowly began to lift itself, revealing the long dark hallway beyond.

Luke stepped through the opening, tugging Chewbacca along behind him. Two Gamorrean guards were there waiting for them, and with a grunt one began to reach for the chain in Luke’s hand. He jerked it away, his other hand going to the blaster at his waist.

“The Wookiee stays with me until I receive my payment,” he said. The Gamorrean gave a snorting laugh and reached for the chain again, but Luke pulled his blaster from its holster and pointed it at the guard. He seemed taken aback, but was quick to recover, charging at Luke with his spear at the ready.

Luke fired, shooting the guard directly in the chest. His counterpoint gave an angered squeal and began to reach for Luke, but Chewie picked him up and threw him against the wall, effectively silencing him. Chewie gave a low growl, as if to say “and stay down.”

Readjusting his grip on the chain, Luke motioned with his head further down the hallway, and they hurried on their way. Jabba’s throne room was nearby, but as they approached two more guards appeared, their battle axes raised. Luke released the chain and fired one shot, striking one of the Gamorreans in the arm. He roared in pain and anger, charging Luke while Chewie made quick work of his friend. Luke ducked to avoid a swing of the guard’s axe, swiping at his legs with his foot, and the Gamorrean stumbled, attempting to regain his balance. With his foe temporarily distracted, Luke re-aimed his blaster and fired, hitting the guard square in his back. He fell forward with a quiet whimper.

The other guard was already on the ground, unconscious or dead. The music that had until then been flowing from Jabba’s throne room had grown quiet, and he could hear the muffled sound of harsh whispers coming from within. With one quick nod to each other, he and Chewie descended the stairs to the audience chamber.

It appeared as grungy as the rest of the palace, with dim lighting and sand piled in the corners. Really, the word “palace” was hardly accurate — Luke had grown up in palaces, and this desert abode was more of a lair than anything else.

As they reached the bottom of the stairs, a black masked humanoid charged them, crying something in an unrecognizable language. Chewie dispatched him quickly, throwing him roughly against a wall where he slid to the ground, instantly unconscious. There were a few shocked gasps from within the room, and when they finally stepped off the last stair, all eyes were on them.

A great many creatures filled the room, from scantily clad women of numerous species to the innumerable bounty hunters and thugs that stalked the perimeter, bristling with weapons. Most watched nervously as Luke strode to the centre of the room, his grip tight on the chain around Chewie’s neck. He could not see R2-D2 or C-3PO, but he knew they were there somewhere, having been sent ahead of them by several hours. Lando was supposed to be there as well; he had spent the past month or so posing as a bounty hunter amongst Jabba’s court. Luke tried not to be appear obvious as he scanned the room, searching for them.

Jabba the Hutt lounged on a raised dais in the middle of the room, his arm resting on a pedestal that contained a clear bowl of water. Amphibious creatures swam about within the bowl, no doubt a snack for the bulbous Hutt beside them. His eyes widened as they landed on Luke and Chewbacca, and he let out a deep “ah” of surprise.

“I have come for the bounty on this Wookiee,” Luke declared.

There was a beat of silence, and then a repulsive smile spread itself across Jabba’s slimy lips. He said something in Huttese and gave a horrible, blood-curdling laugh as he leaned his slug-like body forward, hands gripping the pedestal beside him to keep his balance.

Luke took in a nervous breath, and tried to push away the bad feeling rising in his gut.

◊◊◊

It was night when Luke returned to Jabba’s throne room. The crime lord had gladly accepted Chewbacca and given Luke the owed payment, after some… aggressive diplomacy. Chewie had been taken away, but if things went as planned, he wouldn’t be imprisoned much longer. As another part of his reward, Luke had been invited to stay a while at Jabba’s court, an offer he had accepted.

This late at night, the throne room was silent. Guests and slaves alike slept on the floor, piled atop cushions or slumped over tables. Most of them were passed out drunk, having wholeheartedly enjoyed the near-constant stream of free alcohol that Jabba provided. The room was filled with the sounds of gentle breathing and the occasional snore, but no one stirred.

Luke crept silently from the doorway, keeping his footsteps light. Everyone had pressed themselves up against the walls, and so thankfully he didn’t have to worry about stepping on any wayward hands or ankles. The room was dark, and it was even more difficult for him to see with the tinted goggles he still wore over his eyes. He walked slowly, careful not to disturb anything that might be laying in his path.

Despite the dim lighting, it did not take him long to spot Han. His old friend was still frozen in carbonite, his metal casing floating several feet off the ground near the far wall. There were no other hangings around it, and no sleeping creatures piled beneath it. Windows in the ceiling above shone grey light down on the case from the three moons circling Tatooine’s night sky.

Luke approached cautiously, pressing himself momentarily up against the wall near the case, just to make sure no one had seen him. After several seconds passed and nothing happened, he turned to the panel nearby. He pressed the button to deactivate the force field that kept the carbonite case floating, and watched as it slowly descended to the floor and fell back against the wall with a _clang_ that sounded impossibly loud in the quiet room.

He waited a moment to see if anyone woke, but everything remained quiet. He set to work deactivating the carbonite, twisting various nobs on the side of the casing until a small screen at the top began to flash. Stepping back, he watched as Han’s frozen form began to glow red. Only a few seconds later a bright light shone out from his face, and as it traced along his body the carbonite seemed to melt away, revealing the pale skin beneath. Han’s fingers curled slightly as they were freed, and once all the carbonite had retreated he fell forward, straight into Luke’s arms.

Struggling a bit with the weight, Luke lowered Han to the ground, supporting him as he slowly came to. His hands shook violently as he looked around dazed, his eyes struggling to open. Reaching up, Luke switched off the automatic translator on his vocoder.

“Just relax,” he said, and though he was speaking Basic, his voice still came out sounding mechanical. “You’re free of the carbonite now.”

Blinking, Han pressed a hand to his eyes. “I can’t see,” he said, panic creeping in at the edges of his voice.

“It’s alright,” Luke assured him. “You have hibernation sickness. Your eyesight will return soon.”

“Where am I?”

“Jabba’s Palace.”

Turning his blind eyes to Luke, Han reached up a hand, feeling the scarves and goggles covering his face. “Who… who are you?”

Luke pulled the scarves and vocoder away, pushing the goggles up onto his head. “A friend,” he said.

At the sound of his familiar voice, Han let out a sigh of relief. “Luke!” he cried.

“Come on.” Luke stood, pulling Han up with him and wrapping his arm across his shoulder. Han’s legs were weak after months of misuse, and he leaned heavily on Luke. “Let’s get out of here.”

But as they made to leave, a sudden guttural laugh pierced the silence, and Luke froze.

“What’s that?” Han asked. The laugh sounded again, and a look of dread overcame his face. “I know that laugh.”

Behind them, a curtain whooshed open, and Luke looked over his shoulder to see Jabba sitting in a nearby alcove, surrounded by several other aliens, all of them laughing in glee. C-3PO stood near the back, his mouth covered by a tittering Gran.

“Hey, Jabba,” Han said, pointing to an empty wall. Luke turned him in the right direction, still supporting him as he stumbled about like a newborn fathier. “Look, Jabba, I was just on my way to pay you back, but I got a little sidetracked. It’s not my fault!”

Jabba gave an unimpressed scoff, and spoke at length in Huttese; the only words Luke was able to catch were “Solo” and “bantha”. When he was done, the aliens gathered around him broke out into another round of laughter.

“Look,” Han started, but Jabba cut him off, raising his arm and declaring something.

A strong pair of hands grabbed onto Luke’s shoulders from behind, and two guards began leading them away.

“Jabba, listen, I’ll pay you triple,” Han begged, as they were both forcibly pulled towards the throne room’s exit. “You’re throwing away a fortune here. Don’t be a fool!”

Jabba didn’t seem to care, though, and he simply laughed as they were dragged away, deep down into the palace’s dungeons.

◊◊◊

Leia stood on a ledge jutting out from the side of a cliff, the entrance to a cave at her back. The first sun was just beginning to crest the horizon, and ahead of her, the Dune Sea was spread out, empty and expansive. A wild herd of banthas moved slowly across the dunes, kicking up a cloud of sand in their wake. She wore a dark cloak around her shoulders, but the hood was pulled back, allowing the warm wind to blow in her face and rustle through her loose hair.

Soon, it would be four years since she had left this desert home to become a Jedi. She never thought she would return; she had certainly never planned on it. There was nothing left for her here. Her aunt and uncle were dead, and their farm was nothing but scorched pourstone. Ben and Biggs were gone, too. The only person she might have ever considered returning for was Camie, her childhood best friend, and even then it would have only been to take her away from this useless rock of a planet.

Still, the sight of the banthas moving in the distance, travelling in search of desert shrubs to graze upon, brought up deeply-buried feelings of homesickness. All her life she had dreamed of getting away from Tatooine, of making something of herself, but for nineteen long years this planet had been the only home she’d ever known. A deep ache for her aunt and uncle rose in her heart, and she wondered distantly if they had known the truth about her father — about who he had become.

With a sharp intake of breath, she shook away the depressing thoughts of her long-dead foster parents and her not-so-dead father. She had not come to Tatooine to ruminate on the past.

She had come to save Han.

Pulling her hood up over her head, she looked to the east, where a winding, poorly-maintained road was just visible as it cut its way through rocky hills, heading towards a circular palace in the far distance.

That was where she would find him.

◊◊◊

The great metal gate creaked upwards, bathing the hallway beyond in bright afternoon light. Leia stepped through, her eyes quickly adjusting to the dim interior as the gate slowly descended behind her. She kept her hood pulled high up over her face, and strode down the hallway with purposeful steps, not faltering even when two Gamorrean guards rushed towards her. They crossed their spears in front of her, halting her in her tracks, but she merely looked up at them and lifted her hand.

The guards both stepped away, hands going to their necks as their throats eked out choking squeals.

Leia dropped her hand, and continued on her way.

She had never been to Jabba’s Palace before, but intel provided by Lando Calrissian let her know where to go. All around her, the great stone building was quiet. She figured that she had caught Jabba and his gang in the middle of their afternoon nap.

As she descended the stairs to the throne room, a pale Twi’lek rushed up to meet her — Bib Fortuna, Jabba’s majordomo. He spoke quietly in quick Huttese. “What purpose do you have here?” he asked.

“I have come to speak with Jabba,” Leia replied.

Bib shook his head. “That is not possible,” he said. “I advise that you leave, now, before you regret it.”

“No,” Leia said, and she waved her hand in front of Bib’s face. “You will take me to Jabba now.”

There was a pause, and Bib’s bright red eyes turned glassy. He repeated what Leia had said in monotonous Huttese, and then turned, leading her down the rest of the stairs into the throne room.

“You serve your master well,” Leia said, and Bib once again repeated her. “And you will be rewarded.”

Jabba was indeed asleep, perched atop a dais at the front of the chamber. Bib went to his side, still mumbling quietly to himself. Dancers, slaves, and guests alike were sprawled along the walls, dozing or staring lazily at the dust motes floating through the air. Two more Gamorrean guards stood as she entered the room, taking a few threatening steps forward.

C-3PO stood beside Jabba, and he turned when she entered the room. “At last!” he cried, his arms going up in the air in excitement. “Mistress Leia has come to rescue me!” Leia suppressed a smile; so Jabba had accepted her gift, then, and if her cold welcome was anything to go off of, he had also received her message requesting an audience.

Leaning down, Bib whispered harshly into whatever counted for ears on Jabba’s slug-like head. The Hutt woke with a start, his eyes flying open and falling on Leia, standing in the middle of his throne room.

“Leia Skywalker, Jedi Knight,” Bib introduced.

“I told you not to admit her,” Jabba cried, voice thunderous.

“I must be allowed to speak,” Leia argued, and Bib repeated her in Huttese.

Jabba let out an angered cry and, grabbing the front of Bib’s robes, pulled the Twi’lek down towards him. “You weak-minded fool!” he yelled. “She’s using an old Jedi mind trick on you!” Disgusted, he shoved Bib away, who stumbled from the dais with a cry.

Leia stepped forward, and pushed the hood down from her face. “You will bring Captain Solo, Prince Luke, and the Wookiee to me,” she demanded.

Jabba let out a bellowing laugh. “Your Jedi tricks won’t work on me, girl.”

“Be that as it may, I am leaving with Captain Solo and his friends,” Leia declared. “You can profit by this, or be destroyed. The choice is yours. But I warn you — do not underestimate my power.”

“I will not be threatened by a mere girl,” Jabba roared. “There will be no bargain, young Jedi.” He gave a low, pleased chuckle, and raised his hand. “But you will be mine. Bring her to me!”

Two of the guards stepped forward, clamping their hands on her shoulders and pushing her forward. She struggled to free herself, but they were far stronger than she was. Crying out in anger, she reached her hand out and called a nearby blaster into her palm. Pulling her elbow back, she slammed it into the face of one of the guards. He let go of her, stumbling backwards, and she shot him in the foot before bringing her booted heel onto the shin of the other guard. He kept his hold on her, but stepped back just far enough that she could twist her body to stick the muzzle of the blaster into his gut and fire.

As soon as she was free, she spun towards Jabba, aiming the blaster at his head. She squeezed the trigger, but just as the bolt flew from the weapon someone grabbed her arm and aimed it up, so that it sailed over Jabba and exploded into the far wall. It was the bounty hunter from Cloud City that had grabbed her, and he kept a firm hold on her arm, twisting it behind her back until the blaster fell from her grasp.

Jabba hummed angrily. “I had been willing to let you live,” he said. “To give you the honour of being by my side. But now…” His eyes narrowed, and Leia stared up at him defiantly. “Now, you will die, like the rest of your cohorts.” He looked to one of the guards standing behind her. “Bring me Solo, the Wookiee, and the prince!” he ordered.

Leia screwed her face up in anger, and spat onto the floor at the foot of Jabba’s dais as guards rushed off to carry out his orders. The bounty hunter jerked her hard, and she gritted her teeth as pain shot up her arm.

“Leia!”

At the sound of Han calling her name, Leia’s heart jumped in her chest. She struggled to turn, seeking him out, and saw him being dragged into the room alongside Luke and Chewie, all of them surrounded by a flurry of guards — including Lando, his face half-shrouded by a mask but still recognizable. He had a tight grip on Luke’s upper arm, and didn’t let go even as they all stopped before Jabba.

“Han!” Leia cried, just barely able to keep the smile off her face as he was shoved into place beside her. His eyes were wide, and they jumped around the room, unseeing; he hadn’t fully recovered from his hibernation sickness, then. “Are you alright?” she asked.

“Fine,” he said, with his usual nonchalance. “You?”

She winced a bit, trying in vain to shake her arms free. “Been better,” she admitted. She looked to her other side, where Chewie and Luke stood. Both looked disheveled and annoyed, Chewie angrily shaking away his guards as they stepped back. A pair of binders were placed in the bounty hunter’s hands, and he clamped them over Leia’s wrists, finally releasing her from his grip but leaving her bound.

When they were all in place, Jabba raised his arms and began speaking. At his words, Han let out a quiet curse, and Chewie whimpered mournfully. Luke, unable to understand Huttese, just looked confused. But Leia’s face remained stoic, unaffected.

Standing behind Jabba, 3PO let out a quiet “oh, dear” and then began translating. “His High Exaltedness, the great Jabba the Hutt, has decreed that you are all to be terminated immediately.”

“Great,” Han said, his voice deadpan, “I hate long waits.”

3PO continued, “You will therefore be taken to the Dune Sea and cast into the Pit of Carkoon, the nesting place of the all-powerful sarlacc.”

“Doesn’t sound so bad,” Han said, tilting his head towards Leia.

She wished she shared his ignorance — the Great Pit of Carkoon and the sarlacc that lived within it were notorious on Tatooine. Everyone knew it was Jabba’s preferred method of execution, due to its rather painful and long duration. Parents used it as a story to keep their children from getting into trouble, threatening that if they misbehaved Jabba would come and throw them into the sarlacc’s gullet. It was a tale that had kept Leia awake for many nights as a child.

“In his belly,” 3PO continued, “you will find a new definition of pain and suffering, as you are slowly digested over a thousand years.”

Han’s eyes grew a bit wider. “On second thought, let’s pass on that, huh?” Chewie let out a sad whimper of agreement.

“You should have accepted my bargain, Jabba,” Leia said. “This is the last mistake you’ll ever make.”

Han cast her a surprised look. Jabba gave an amused laugh, obviously unaffected by her words, and ordered them to be taken away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **me, every time I tried to come up with a title for this fic:** hm.... something similar to Return of the Jedi... that also deals with the story themes.... how about... The Last Jedi!
> 
>  **me:** ...
> 
>  **me:** FUCK


	2. Chapter 2

The skiff moved silently across the Dune Sea, the Tatooine suns shining hot in the sky above. All Leia could see for miles was sand, stretching away in every direction. Jabba’s large sail barge, the _Khetanna_ , took the lead of the execution party, upbeat music blasting from its open windows. It dwarfed the small desert skiff that carried the four prisoners, accompanied by half a dozen guards, including a still-disguised Lando.

Han stood beside her, hands bound behind his back and eyes squinting at the bright sunlight reflecting off the dunes. “I think my eyes are getting better,” he said, blinking a few times and tilting his head. “Instead of a big dark blur, I see a big light blur.”

“There’s nothing to see,” Luke commented, leaning forward from where he was standing behind them. “Trust me.”

“Well,” Han said, giving Leia a sardonic smile, “what a lovely place to die, then.”

She suppressed her own grin. She hadn’t realized how much she’d missed him until he was back, making his usual nihilistic and apathetic quips. He could be irritating, yes, but the past six months had shown her that she would rather live with those annoyances than live without him at all. She’d spent most of her time since their escape from Bespin worrying about him, and planning the somewhat harebrained rescue they now found themselves in.

“Don’t worry,” she told him. “I have everything under control. Just stick close to Chewie and Luke.”

He gave her a skeptical look, and she just raised her eyebrows at him in response.

Up ahead, a deep depression appeared in the sand — the Great Pit of Carkoon. Leia shifted nervously as it came into sight. This was where things could go horribly, desperately wrong.  

The skiff came to a stop directly above the pit. In the centre was a great maw, lined with rows of sharp teeth and long, reaching tentacles. A strange beak-like mouth jutted up into the air, clacking and letting out an awful high-pitched screech. The _Khetanna_ stopped on the other side of the pit, while another desert skiff full of guards and thugs circled around them. Leia glanced quickly over her shoulder at Luke and Chewie; Luke gave her a small nod, while Chewie warbled quietly.

A plank extended out from the side of their skiff, positioned so that a jump from it would send them falling into the sarlacc’s expectant mouth. The music coming from the _Khetanna_ quieted, and a familiar voice called out to them from the great barge.

“Victims of the almighty sarlacc!” Leia looked up from the nauseating creature in the pit below, quickly finding C-3PO standing in one of the windows of the _Khetanna_. The droid continued, “His Excellency hopes that you will die honourably. But should any of you wish to beg for mercy, the great Jabba the Hutt will now listen to your pleas.”

“Threepio!” Han called, eyes darting about as he tried to pinpoint the droid’s exact location. “You tell that slimy piece of… of worm-ridden filth he’ll get no such pleasure from us!” Chewie gave a pitiful little whimper, and Han looked over at him. “Right?” Chewie was quiet for a moment, before giving another, slightly louder bark, although he still didn’t sound entirely convinced.

Leia grinned at Han’s words, but didn’t take her eyes off the barge. She scanned its numerous windows and open deck, looking for… yes, there he was. His domed head swivelling slightly, R2-D2 rolled over to the railing on the _Khetanna_ ’s deck, his photoreceptor quickly picking out Leia and focusing on her. Her grin widened.

“Jabba!” she cried. “This is your final chance! Either free us, or die.”

She could faintly hear the sound of laughter emanating from the barge, and then Jabba’s voice came on over an amplifier. “Move her into position!” he declared in Huttese.

A guard began to move towards her, and she glanced nervously back down into the sarlacc pit. She hoped desperately that her plan worked, but if it didn’t… She looked over at Han, and took a hesitant step towards him.

“Han,” she started, but then the rough hand of a Weequay guard was clamping onto her shoulder, and she didn’t have time to say anything else. Struggling against the grip of the guard, she took another step forward and stretched up, pressing her lips to Han’s. He seemed taken aback for only a split second, before he kissed her back — and then the guard was yanking her away. Han had his usual infuriatingly cocky grin on his face, and she gave him a small smile of her own before being shoved towards the plank.

The guard removed the binders from around her wrists — why waste them by throwing them into the sarlacc’s gut with her — and then, using the blunt end of his spear, forced her onto the plank. She walked to the end, the plank springing slightly beneath her feet, and then looked back up onto the barge. R2 was still there on the deck, waiting for her. Glancing over her shoulder, she picked Lando out from among the guards on the skiff, and gave him the briefest of nods. He nodded back.

Behind her, Chewie growled anxiously. Leia glanced back over to R2, shuffling nervously on the deck, and raised her hand, giving him a two-fingered salute. Then, she jumped.

She twisted herself as she fell, her hands grabbing onto the edge of the plank, and used the Force to propel herself up into the air. She flipped a few times before landing solidly back onto the deck of the skiff, her hand stretching out and grabbing the lightsaber that R2 had shot out from the compartment in his head.

She had only used the ‘saber a handful of times before, and its bright green blade was still strange to her. She had been collecting parts for it since she had lost her father’s lightsaber — and the lower part of her arm — on Cloud City. It was only once she had returned to Tatooine, and to Ben Kenobi’s old hut, that she had been able to finish it. Its completion had come as a relief — a lightsaber that was truly hers, not an old heirloom full of dark memories. When she searched for the past of this ‘saber, she found nothing; it was a clean slate, a way for her to separate herself from the dark deeds of her father.

Her hand tightened around the sleek hilt, and then she swung, slashing at the guards. They ducked back in surprise, but she kept swinging, hunting wildly for a target. On the other side of the skiff, Lando unholstered his blaster and pulled his helmet from his head, using it to whack one of the guards in the face.

Leia struck a guard in the shoulder, and he stumbled back with a cry, the back of his knees hitting against the rail. His arms pinwheeled as he lost his balance, and then he was falling, tumbling with a cry into the sarlacc’s jaws. It screeched loudly with satisfaction. She turned, slashing at one of the Weequay guards, and in his attempt to escape he walked himself off the skiff, another victim of the sarlacc.

Lando had the remaining guards occupied, and so Leia turned her attention to Han, Chewie, and Luke, quickly freeing them of their binders. She winced when a laserbolt exploded off the end of the skiff, and Lando let out a sharp cry. When she turned, it took her a few seconds to spot him — he was dangling off the side of the skiff, holding tightly to a thin rope.

“Lando!” Luke cried, and rushed forward to help him.

He was cut off by someone landing on the skiff, right in front of him — the bounty hunter from Cloud City. He raised a blaster, aiming it at Luke, but he ducked just as it went off. The bolt sailed right past him, but grazed Chewie’s arm. He cried out in pain and tumbled forward, taking Han down onto the deck with him. 

Leia rushed past Luke, quickly severing the tip of the bounty hunter’s blaster with her lightsaber. He was quick to react, lifting his other arm and pressing a button on his gauntlet. It sent a rope flying out, wrapping itself around her body and trapping her arms. Another bolt from the barge exploded onto the skiff, knocking the bounty hunter to the ground and giving Leia a chance to awkwardly swipe at the rope with her ‘saber. She severed it, jumping away as the rope tumbled to the floor.

Han had extricated himself from under Chewie, who was looking worriedly at an angry red wound on his arm. Luke was leaning on the railing, looking down to where Lando still dangled, feet swinging wildly. He ducked as a barrage of blasterfire came towards them, fired from the other desert skiff, racing in their direction.

Without even thinking, Leia ran, jumping from the bow of one skiff on to the other. Most of the blasterfire turned on her, but she deflected it easily with her ‘saber, sending bolts flying back towards those who had shot them. One guard was struck in the chest, falling to the ground with a gurgled cry. Another charged towards her, but she kicked out with her foot, hitting him in the face. He crumpled to the ground, and then slipped off the skiff into the pit.

Then, inexplicably, the Cloud City bounty hunter flew past, his jetpack wildly out of control. He smashed into the side of the _Khetanna_ , falling to the ground like a dead bird and rolling right into the waiting mouth of the sarlacc. Confused, Leia looked back towards the other skiff. Han had one of the guards’ spears in his hands, and was stretching it down towards Lando.

An angered cry brought her attention back to the fight at hand, and she looked back to see a guard charging her, spear at the ready. She dodged just in time to avoid being impaled, but the sharp tip of the spear grazed her upper arm, slicing the skin. She hissed in pain, and heard Luke cry out her name.

She didn’t have time to look back at him. Ignoring the pain in her arm, she swiped at the guard with her lightsaber, slashing him across the stomach. He fell to the ground, and she jumped down off the bow onto the deck, ‘saber swinging wildly as she brought it down on the other guards. Luke called her name again, and this time she glanced back, only briefly, and saw him jump off the bow of the other skiff and come sailing through the air towards her.

Her breath caught in her throat. The two skiffs weren’t that far apart, but if he missed… She saw an image in her mind of him tumbling through the sand, disappearing into the toothy jaws of the sarlacc.

But then he was landing on the front of the skiff, completely unfazed as he scrambled onto the deck. He had a pilfered blaster in his hand, and didn’t even pause before taking aim and firing. He struck one of the guards in the shoulder and, with a quick grin, Leia turned to finish him off.

Luke hopped off the bow of the skiff, hurrying to her side. Working together, they made quick work of the remaining guards, Luke’s blaster letting out bolt after bolt and Leia’s lightsaber a green blur as it arced through the air. She was reminded of the Battle of Yavin, when they had flown together, taking out TIE fighters and turbolasers. They had been completely in sync then, despite knowing each other for only a few hours, and that connection had only grown in the years since. Numerous battles together had made them a well-oiled machine, able to fight alongside each other with no words passing between them. They kept each other covered and went after their targets — one fighter, split into two. 

The last guard fell from the skiff, a hole from a bolt smoking in his chest.

Luke looked at her, a smile of relief on his face — and then a laserbolt soared by above them, exploding into the stern of the other skiff, where Han was still attempting to rescue Lando. The shock of the explosion sent the skiff off kilter, and Lando lost his grip on the ropes, falling to the sandy slopes that led straight into the sarlacc pit. Han, leaning far over the railing, was knocked overboard — the only thing that kept him from falling completely were the ropes tangled around his feet. With a cry, Chewie grabbed hold of his ankles, while Han tried desperately to extend the spear to a slipping Lando.

Leia looked up to the deck of the barge, where a Nikto thug was re-aiming a blaster cannon. A few more shots like that, and Han, Lando, and Chewie were all done for.

“We have to take that cannon out,” Leia said, looking to Luke. “I can jump up onto the barge, but—”

“Don’t worry about me,” Luke said, and hurried to the controls of the skiff. “I’ll figure something out.”

Leia hesitated for only the briefest of moments before nodding. Extinguishing her lightsaber, she clipped it onto her belt and, one foot on the railing, propelled herself up onto the side of the _Khetanna_. Using the closed windows as handholds, she climbed her way up onto the deck, rolling over the railing and landing in a crouched position.

As she stood, she unhooked her lightsaber and ignited the blade, immediately taking out the Nikto at the cannon and blocking the blaster bolts that came sailing towards her from the other thugs. She ran towards them, swinging her blade and felling them one by one. Just as she had knocked down the last one, a hatch in the floor of the deck opened and two more guards came pouring out. They fired, but she deflected their bolts and charged them, swiping until they were disabled or dead.

The barge shook slightly, the sound of metal screeching against metal wrenching through the air. A few seconds later, Luke was clambering up over the side of the railing. Three more thugs came swarming out of the hatch, and Luke had his blaster aimed and firing at one before the Nikto had taken more than two steps. Leia quickly dispatched the other, while Luke took care of the third.

“Cover me!” she called, and then she was dropping down the hatch.

The area below decks was dim, with only thin shafts of light coming in through the slatted windows. She had taken only a few steps when she was swarmed with guards and thugs. They outnumbered her, but most were too wary of her lightsaber to get very close. They shot at her with blasters, but she was easily able to deflect or dodge all their bolts.

From a dais in the centre of the room, Jabba watched the fight, his eyes wide and his tail wriggling with rage. C-3PO stood cowering behind him, R2 beeping worriedly at his side.

“Kill her, you fools!” Jabba called. “How useless are you that you cannot kill a girl?”

That seemed to embolden some of the thugs, and one charged her; he promptly got a lightsaber to the gut. From behind them, a blaster went off, its bolt striking a Weequay thug in the back. Leia looked to see Luke standing beneath the hatch, weapon aimed. Seconds later he was charging into the fray alongside her, blaster blazing.

Working together, it took no time before most of the remaining guards were dead. With Luke capable of handling the rest, Leia extinguished her lightsaber and stalked across the room towards Jabba.

“I told you that you should have struck a bargain,” she said.

Jabba’s lips flapped in anger. Leia stepped up onto the dais. Behind her, more guards seemed to materialize from within the depths of the barge. Luke could hold them off for the time being, but he wouldn’t be able to take them all.

“You will regret this, Jedi!” Jabba cried.

“I don’t think I will,” Leia said, and then, pressing the hilt to Jabba’s gut, ignited her lightsaber.  

He let out a shocked, choking gasp, his eyes going wide and his tongue lolling out of his open mouth. A few seconds passed, and then his breath wheezed from his hulking body, his large, glassy eyes slipping shut. Leia retracted her lightsaber and stepped aside, and the great Jabba the Hutt slumped forward, dead.

For a moment, Leia simply stared at the dead Hutt, as if processing what had happened, until the sound of a blaster going off snapped her back to the present.  

“Come on, let’s go!” Luke cried, kicking wildly at one guard while firing his pistol at another.

“You go ahead!” Leia said, reigniting her lightsaber. “Take the droids, and get out of here! I’ll be right behind you!”

Luke nodded and took off, R2 and C-3PO hurrying after him. 3PO was mumbling something about monkey-lizards as he hobbled along, one of his eyes dangling loosely from its socket.

Leia turned to the guards, lightsaber wheeling through the air, and lashed out at them. They tried to fight back, but she held them off, just long enough for Luke and the droids to make their way up onto the deck. A few moments later, she made her own retreat, propelling herself up and out of the hatch.

Han had managed to haul Lando back onto the skiff, and they’d commandeered the vessel, bringing it up alongside the barge. R2 and 3PO were already gone, while Luke stood at the stern, trying to pull down a rope from one of the sails. A large blaster cannon was placed nearby.

“Point the cannon at the deck!” Leia called to him. He looked at her for a moment, confused, and she motioned to the large weapon beside him. “Point it at the deck!”

Realization dawning, he let the rope dangle and hurried towards the cannon, swivelling it until its muzzle was pointed down at the _Khetanna_ ’s deck. Leia turned back towards the hatch; one of the guards was pulling himself up out of it, blaster already aimed. She deflected his shot, sending it back towards him, but it missed by only a few inches. He scrambled onto the deck, and almost immediately another guard popped up behind him.

Leia glanced quickly over her shoulder. Luke had his hands wrapped tightly around the rope; their eyes met, and he nodded. She deflected one last shot, sending it back to strike its sender in the chest, and then she was running for the railing. She jumped, sending herself flying towards the skiff, just as Luke kicked out, firing the cannon.

The bolt exploded into the deck, sending up a plume of fire and smoke. Luke swung himself onto the skiff, landing sturdily on the deck, right beside Leia.

“Let’s go!” he cried, letting the rope fall from his hands. “And don’t forget the droids!”

Lando, standing at the skiff’s controls, looked up with a smile. “We’re on our way!” he said.

A smaller series of explosions went off within the _Khetanna_ as they wheeled around to the other side. Leia could just see C-3PO’s golden feet sticking out from the sand, and R2’s periscope looking around curiously beside him. Lando sent down two electromagnets to pick them up and bring them onto the deck.

Leia leaned against the railing as the skiff sped away. More explosions rocked the _Khetanna_ and its repulsorlifts failed, sending it slumping into the sand. A moment later, and the entire barge was engulfed in a ball of fire as it was blown apart, sending bits of metal and flaming debris in every direction.

The skiff raced away across the dunes to safety.

◊◊◊

The wind howled wildly around them, great clouds of sand and dust whipping through the air. Luke stumbled blindly forward, his hands pressing down on the thin scarf wrapped around his face. The sand stung his exposed skin, and though he was wearing goggles, he could still feel grains scratching at his eyes every time he blinked.

The storm had moved in quickly, just as the skiff was coming into view of the Great Mesra Plateau, where they had docked the ships. Leia was the first to notice it, immediately recognizing the great clouds gathering on the horizon for what they were — a sandstorm. Lando had pushed the skiff to its very limits trying to outrun the storm, but it had been too fast. The clouds had overtaken them just as Luke had spotted the _Millennium Falcon_ and the U-wing in the distance; a few seconds later, the ships had disappeared again, engulfed by swirling sand.

With a general idea of where the ships were, they had continued slowly forward for as long as they could. Eventually they’d had to abandon the skiff, for fear of crashing it into the side of the plateau, and now they staggered, blind, along the shifting sand. Leia led the way, somehow seeming to know where to go despite the opaque cloud blustering around them. She had her arms wrapped around Han, still partially blind from hibernation sickness, guiding him forward.

Gradually, the sand beneath Luke’s feet gave way to hardened ground. He nearly tripped over a rock that appeared quite suddenly in his path, but Lando, walking nearby, reached out to catch him. Luke could hardly even see the scoundrel’s face in the blowing sand, and he was quite thankful for it, because he could feel himself blushing fiercely. He stepped away quickly, muttering a quiet thank you that was lost to the wind the second it left his mouth.

Thankfully, both their attentions were drawn by Leia calling out to them. They looked to see her pointing straight ahead, at two hulking shadows just visible through the blowing sand — the ships.

They hurried towards them, ducking beneath the hull of the _Falcon_ , where the wind was slightly less brutal. 3PO, his joints stiff with sand, hobbled over and pressed the switch to lower the ramp. Above the roar of the wind, Luke could hear Han thanking Leia for coming after him. She smiled, dismissing his thanks, and stretched up to place a gentle kiss on his lips.

“I’ll see you back at the fleet,” she promised.

“Why don’t you come with us on the _Falcon_?” Han asked. “Luke can fly that old U-wing back.”

Leia shook her head. “I can’t. I promised an old friend I’d go see him.”

Luke’s eyebrows rose slightly at that. He had a pretty good idea who she was talking about. As she turned towards the U-wing that had brought them both to Tatooine, he hurried to her side. “I’m coming with you,” he told her.

“No, Luke, you aren’t,” she said, stopping and looking at him. “You need to get back to the fleet. I can do this on my own.”

“I know where you’re going, Leia, and the last time you went there on your own, you crashed my X-wing,” Luke argued. “I’m coming with you.”

“I don’t know how long I’m—”

“It doesn’t matter,” he interrupted, shaking his head. “I don’t want to fish you out of that mudhole for a second time. Now, I don’t know about you, but I really want to get out of this storm.” He started back towards the U-wing, and a few seconds later, Leia was back by his side, having grudgingly accepted his stubborn companionship.

R2 was already waiting for them by the ship. Luke climbed in, pulling away his scarves and goggles, and began the start-up sequence; the engines coughed a bit as they came to life, unhappy about the sand no doubt scratching through them, but they seemed otherwise okay. Through the viewport he could see the lights of the _Falcon_ glowing through the storm, and the ramp closing as Lando hurried up it.

Leia slipped into the co-pilot’s chair, shaking sand from her hair with a scowl on her face. “I hate sand…” she muttered, and Luke, rubbing the grains from his eyes, admitted he had to agree.

The _Falcon_ slowly lifted off from the ground, and once it was cleared Luke began the take-off sequence for the U-wing. The ship rocked as it lifted into the air, buffeted by the strong winds, but he kept a firm grip on the control yoke. They zipped through the storm, following the blue lights from the _Falcon_ ’s engines, just barely visible up ahead. As they climbed higher, the swirling sand calmed and thinned, until the storm was just a mass of brown clouds beneath them.

Leia had put the coordinates for Dagobah into the navicomputer, and it finished calculating the route just as they broke through Tatooine’s exosphere. Luke was glad to leave that dustbowl of a planet far behind them.

“We’ll see you guys back at the fleet,” Leia said, speaking into her comlink.

“Alright,” came Han’s reply. “Don’t take too long.”

“We won’t.”

The line went quiet, and Leia slipped the comlink back into her pocket. She had a small smile on her face, and Luke gave her a teasing smirk as he prepped the hyperdrive. He liked to think he had seen this thing between her and Han coming — Leia pretended that she disliked Han, but he’d seen how worried she was for the past six months. She had a soft spot for him; much softer than even she had realized.

Noticing his expression, Leia’s smile turned into a glower, and she reached over, pushing the hyperdrive lever forward.

“Let’s just go,” she said, leaning back in her seat with her arms crossed over her chest. Luke snickered, but decided not to tease her any further.

Outside the viewport, the stars spun and then disappeared as the ship shot forward into hyperspace.  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> you can find me on tumblr at leiaskywalkvr!


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have an exam coming up in the next few days, so the next chapter might be a bit late, but after that I'll be free from all obligations outside of work, and will have plenty of time for writing! :)

To Leia’s surprise, it was not raining on Dagobah when they landed. Luke set the U-wing down in a shallow, muddy pond, and when they stepped out the air was actually warm. Mist still hung about the tops of the trees, and the humidity remained far higher than Leia was comfortable with, but the air no longer chilled her skin. The edge of the mud pile, where it was shallowest, was beginning to dry and crack. It seemed as if they had arrived at the beginning of the dry season.

She led them through the dense jungle, reaching out through the Force to sense Master Yoda’s location. He wasn’t far, meaning he was likely in or near his hut, but there was something… different about him. He still burned bright in the Force — brighter than most anyone Leia had ever sensed — but he was dimmer somehow, like a slowly-dying lantern. Still working, but growing almost imperceptibly weaker by the minute.

They reached the bog that Yoda called home just as the Dagobah sun began to dip below the horizon. Smoke wafted from the hut’s chimney, and a warm, dim light glowed in the windows. Yoda would know she was coming; undoubtedly he had sensed her the moment they had landed, if not earlier. As they approached the hut, Leia stopped and turned to Luke.

“Wait out here with Artoo,” she said. She just wanted to make sure everything was alright first. In any case, she didn’t think both her and Luke could fit into Yoda’s little hut.

He nodded, and let her continue on towards the hut alone. Coming up to the door, she dropped to her knees and began to crawl through, calling out to Yoda as she did so.

The old Jedi Master was standing by the fire, slowly stirring a pot that hung over the flames. He seemed smaller than when Leia had last seen him, only six short months ago. His worn, ratty robes hung a bit looser over his tiny frame, and his voice, when he spoke, was weak and straining.

“Ah, young Skywalker,” he said, turning to her with a smile. “Long have I been expecting you.”

She lifted herself up off her knees into a sitting position, and bowed her head. “I’m sorry it took me so long to return, Master,” she apologized. “Things were more… complicated than I had expected.”

Yoda gave a quiet laugh that quickly turned into a cough. When it subsided, he hobbled away from the fire over to the window, staring out at the darkening swamp. Leia watched him, a frown on her face. Where was the master she had known only half a year ago? He had been old then, yes, but not like this — he had presented himself in a way that had made her forget his age of nearly a millennium. He had seemed strong, his mind unfailing and his body perhaps not what it used to be, but still fit and reliable.

Little of that remained now. His mind still seemed the same, but his movements betrayed his centuries of life. Every step appeared painful, and his breath wheezed from his lungs. His gimer stick, which had before seemed to be more prop than aid, was now the only thing that kept him on his feet.

“That face you make,” Yoda said, glancing at her over his shoulder. “Look I so old to young eyes?”

Leia tried in vain to turn her frown into a smile. “No, of course not.”

Yoda chuckled softly, as if pleased. But he shook his head. “I do,” he said, almost mournfully. “Yes, I do... Sick have I become. Old, and weak.” Leia opened her mouth to protest, but he turned to her and cut her off before she could speak. “When nine hundred years old you are, look as good you will not, hmm?” He let out another laugh, which descended swiftly into a fit of coughing.

Slowly, he moved to sit on his small bed, and Leia shifted so that she was closer to him.

“Soon I will rest,” he said, and now his voice sounded almost wistful. As if this was something he had long been looking forward to. “Yes, forever sleep. Earned it, I have, do you not think?”

Leia’s eyes widened at his words. “You’re… dying? But you can’t!”

“Not even I am that strong with the Force,” Yoda said, amusement twinkling in his tired eyes. “Twilight is upon me, and soon night must fall. But worry not — that is the way of things… the way of the Force.”

He reached out, passing his gimer stick to her and, with a sigh, eased himself back onto his pillow. Weakly, he struggled to pull his hole-filled blanket up over himself, and Leia quickly leaned forward to help, tucking it in tightly around his sides.

“But I’ve come to complete my training,” she said. “Like I promised.”

Yoda shook his head. “No more training do you require. Already know you that which you need.” He closed his eyes and breathed deeply, as if he could not get quite enough air into his weak lungs.

“Then how will I ever become a Jedi?” she asked. She thought she would know — she would get some feeling, some instinct that told her she was truly a Jedi Knight. But all she felt was incompetent, and untrained. Vader had defeated her with ease in Cloud City, and she felt that she had learned little since then. She still desperately needed Yoda’s help.

“Mm, now remains there only one thing,” Yoda said, opening his eyes and looking to her. “Vader. You must… confront Vader. Only then, a Jedi will you be.” He nodded his head slowly, shifting slightly and pulling his blanket up to his chin. “And confront him you will.”

Leia frowned, looking away from Yoda to the ground. Vader… her father. For the past six months, she had wrestled with the truth of her bloodline — that her father, the Jedi hero Anakin Skywalker, was now Darth Vader, the most hated man in the galaxy. Luke was the only one who knew, and that was solely because he had been there to hear Vader’s revelation. It was not something she had often talked with him about. She knew what Vader, what her father, had done to him, personally, and though she had wanted desperately to speak about it, she did not want to push such a conversation on Luke. In a way, she just wanted to forget about it all, and she wanted Luke to forget as well. As if ignoring it would erase the truth of her bloodline.

But she knew the truth. The memories she had seen in her father’s lightsaber confirmed the monster that he had become, and she felt it deep within her. The truth resonated through her veins, and hung on her shoulders like a dead weight — Darth Vader was Anakin Skywalker. Darth Vader was her father.

Despite that all, she wanted to hear it spoken. She wanted it confirmed, by someone besides the twisted man that her father had become.  

“Master Yoda,” she said, lifting her eyes from the ground. The old Jedi Master looked as if he was asleep, but he opened his eyes at the sound of his name. Leia continued, “Darth Vader… He is my father, isn’t he?”

Yoda was silent for a moment, unmoving, before he turned onto his side, his back facing her. “Rest I need,” he said. “Yes… rest.”

“Yoda, please. I must hear it from you.”

There was a moment of silence, and Yoda’s head bowed slightly. “Yes,” he said eventually. “Your father is he.”

This was the answer that Leia had been expecting, but it still made her heart sink. Some part of her, she realized, had been holding out hope that it was all a lie — that what she felt was just the Force trying to deceive her, some trick of the dark side to pull her away from the light.

But it was true. Darth Vader was her father. Tears of frustration stung at her eyes, but she bit her lip hard to keep them at bay.

“Told you, did he?” Yoda asked, his back still turned to her.

“Yes.”

“Unexpected this is,” Yoda said, “and unfortunate…”

Anger flared up in Leia. “It’s unfortunate that I know the truth?” she asked. 

“No.” Yoda struggled onto his back with a groan, his eyes unfocused as they settled on her. His voice was even more strained, and every word seemed to take all his energy. “Unfortunate it is that you rushed to face him — that incomplete was your training. Not ready for the burden were you.”

“You still should have told me!” she said, her voice rising. “You knew what I saw in my vision, what I felt. And yet you still decided to lie. Would you have ever told me? Would you have sent me away now to face him without telling me who he really is?”

“If the truth you had known… lost you, we would have,” Yoda said. “There is too much anger in you. Remember, a Jedi’s strength flows from the Force. You must beware — anger, fear, aggression. The dark side are they. Once you start down the dark path… forever will it dominate your destiny.”

Leia let out a shuddering breath, reaching up to wipe away a tear that had leaked from her eye. “I’m sorry,” she whispered, and the anger melted away like tension from her shoulders.

“Leia…” Yoda’s voice dropped to a whisper, and he reached out one clawed hand, stretching it towards her. “Leia… Do not… underestimate the powers of the Emperor… or suffer your father’s fate, you will.“ He breathed deeply, and then let out a dry, wheezing cough. “Leia… When gone I am, the last of the Jedi will you be.”

Another tear slipped down Leia’s cheek, but she didn’t bother to wipe it away. She watched, torn, as Yoda struggled to speak.

“Leia,” he said, “the Force runs strong in your family. Pass on… what you have learned.” His hand moved, pointing towards the door of his hut. His next words came out choked, as if he was using all his remaining energy just to push them out of his throat. “Leia… There is… another… Sky… walker…” As he spoke, his hand slowly fell to rest at his side, and his eyes closed, too weak to stay open any longer. His head slumped down onto the pillow, and Leia felt the exact moment that he passed. His bright presence in the Force dispersed, like a swarm of glow flies scattering to the breeze.

She swiped at her eyes, rubbing away the tears welling in them. As she watched, Yoda’s body vanished, as Ben’s had on the Death Star, leaving behind only an empty bed. His blanket fell slowly on the space where he had just been, and a crack of thunder rumbled through the air.

◊◊◊

It was dark by the time Leia re-emerged from Yoda’s hut. Luke had found a relatively dry stump to sit on, and was trying to fix a sticky grasper on R2 when he caught sight of her crawling through the hut’s front door. Her face was bleak, and she seemed distant, lost in thought as she walked towards him.

He stood, setting his tools down and hurrying to meet her. “What’s wrong?” he asked, his hands going to her shoulders.

She heaved a sigh, shaking her head. “He’s gone,” she said. “Yoda’s dead.”

Luke blinked, surprised. He had only met Yoda once, but the stories he had heard as a child of the great Jedi Grandmaster had made him seem immortal — a creature that death could not touch.

But death touched all. It was a lesson that Luke should have learned by now.

Leia sat down on the stump, her head hanging in her hands. “I don’t know what to do now,” she said, and Luke could feel her distress. “I can’t go on alone.”

He knelt beside her, placing a comforting hand on her back, just as a vaguely familiar voice echoed out to them from the woods.

“Yoda will always be with you.”

Leia lifted her head, and they both looked in the direction of the voice to see Obi-Wan Kenobi emerging from amongst the trees. He was translucent, as he had been the last time Luke had seen him, and a slight shimmer hung about his form like a strange mist.

Luke stood as the ghost approached, at the same time that Leia jumped to her feet and strode towards the spectre of her old master. Her distress and sorrow were gone in a flash, replaced by anger and indignation.

“Ben!” she cried. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

It took Luke a few seconds to realize she was talking about her father — about Darth Vader. The two of them had never really spoken about her recently-realized familial connection, not since Luke had told her what he knew as they had stood together on the _Redemption_. He had tried to broach the subject before, but Leia had always deflected. She hid it well, but Luke could tell that the entire situation had deeply upset her. And it seemed that her anger and distress had not gone away over the past six months.

“You told me that Vader betrayed and murdered my father,” Leia continued. “Why did you lie to me?”

Obi-Wan’s face was patient as he spoke. “Your father was seduced by the dark side of the Force,” he explained. “When that happened, he ceased to be Anakin Skywalker and became Darth Vader, and the good man who was your father was destroyed. So, what I told you was true… from a certain point of view.”

Leia scoffed derisively, and even Luke, a trained politician, had to admit that that was a rather feeble excuse for a lie. Obi-Wan must have known that, if Leia ever encountered Vader, there was a possibility that he would reveal the truth to her. He may have been attempting to protect her by concealing it, but in the end, his lie might have done more harm than good.

“Leia, you’re going to find that many of the truths we cling to depend greatly on our own point of view.” Obi-Wan looked past her, straight to Luke, his eyebrows slightly raised. “You as well, Your Highness.”

Luke said nothing, and Leia crossed her arms over her chest. Obi-Wan went over and sat down on a fallen log, his hands on his knees as if weary. He sighed sadly, and his expression was distant when he spoke next.

“Anakin was a good friend,” he said. “When I first knew him, your father was already a great pilot. But I was amazed how strongly the Force was with him.”

Intrigued, Leia sat down beside Obi-Wan. He looked up at her as she sat, a small, apologetic smile on his face, and then glanced over at Luke. Uncomfortable, Luke shuffled back a bit, feeling as if he was imposing on a very private moment. Leia had never known much about her father; all records of the Jedi had been destroyed by the Empire after the end of the Clone Wars, and all she’d been able to learn came from those who had been alive when he was still Anakin Skywalker, the great hero of the Republic. Luke knew how much she had admired him, before learning who he had become.

Obi-Wan’s gaze lingered on Luke for a moment longer, before shifting back to Leia. “I took it upon myself to train him as a Jedi,” he continued. “I thought I could instruct him just as well as Yoda.” A sad pause, and Obi-Wan looked away, back to the ground. “I was wrong.”

“Do you…” Leia started, but then stopped, as if reconsidering her question. “Do you think there’s still good in him? Some trace of the man he once was?”

“I thought so, once,” Obi-Wan said, his voice tinged with regret. “But I see now that isn’t the case. He is more machine than man — twisted and evil.”

Leia looked away, her eyes falling to the ground. “So I must kill him.” To most, her voice would have sounded apathetic — accepting of the horrible burden placed on her. But Luke could hear her sadness, and her uncertainty. It was not what she wanted to do, but what she thought she must.

Luke did not know if he agreed.

Slowly, Obi-Wan nodded. “If you do not, you will be allowing the Emperor to win,” he said. “I am sorry to place this weight on you… but you are our only hope.”

Leia glanced to Yoda’s hut, before turning back to Obi-Wan. “Yoda spoke of another,” she said. “Another Skywalker.”

Luke’s eyebrows raised, surprised, and he, like Leia, looked to Obi-Wan for answers. He found the old ghost staring back at him, an almost nervous expression on his face.

“Yes,” he said, finally tearing his eyes away from Luke. “The other he spoke of… was your twin brother.”

It was like falling into an ice-cold lake. Luke’s breath caught in his throat, and his hearing seemed to dim as thoughts filled his mind. He could hear Leia, astonished, and Obi-Wan, calm and explaining, but their words didn’t register. Every nerve in his body seemed to sing, burning with a heightened awareness. In his mind, he saw his entire life, stretched out in front of him and continuing on behind him.

A boy, orphaned but never alone, brought to Alderaan and raised to be a king. The destruction of his home planet, the end of everything he had ever known and loved. The sense of loss and horrible solitude that had come afterwards — broken by a girl in a stormtrooper’s uniform, with long brown hair and a wild smile. The connection that he had felt to her, and the way the solitude had seemed to melt away.

And every interaction between them since, flashing across his eyes like a sped-up holovid. The way she had somehow spoken to him, reaching across parsecs of space to place her voice in his mind. The way they fought and flew together, like it was what they were meant to do. Luke felt like he knew Leia better than he had ever known anyone, even his parents — and he had felt like that since the day he had met her.

The realization came not so much as a shock, but rather as a relief. It was something that had always been inevitable, an eventuality that he was destined to reach. Separated by time and space, he and Leia were always meant to arrive here, at this moment. At this realization.

“It’s me,” he said, and he was pulled from the icy lake. His gaze immediately found Leia, still seated on the log, looking at him with wide, realizing eyes. “I’m your brother.” There was no question in his mind. He knew he was right, and he knew that Leia did, as well.

A small smile ghosted across Obi-Wan’s lips. “Yes,” he said. “You’re very wise to have figured out the truth, Your Highness. But you must tell no one. Bury your feelings deep down — especially you, Leia. They do you credit, but they could be made to serve the Emperor.”

Solemnly, Leia nodded. Obi-Wan looked to Luke. “The Force is strong with you, as it is with all your family,” he said. “In time, you could learn to use it as Leia has.”

Luke looked down at his hands, curling his fingers as if seeing them for the first time. As a child, he had listened, rapt, to his father’s stories of the Jedi of old and the incredible power that they had wielded. Then he had met Leia, and he had actually seen that power in action, and it had awed him. It felt impossible that he, too, could hold such an ability.

When he looked back up, Obi-Wan had stood and was peering down at Leia, his expression grave. “This battle must be yours alone, Leia,” he said. “Vader and the Emperor must not learn who Luke truly is. There is no avoiding your destiny. You must face and destroy your father.”

Leia’s eyebrows knotted together, and her gaze fell to the ground. A moment of silence passed, during which the weight of Obi-Wan’s words pressed heavily on all of them. To save the galaxy, Leia needed to kill her father — _his_ father, Luke realized. His stomach twisted sickeningly at the thought.

Leia lifted her head, and the uncertainty on her face was gone, replaced with a steely determination.

◊◊◊

They left Dagobah in silence. Neither of them said anything as they made the trek back to the U-wing, the sounds of the jungle broken only by occasional beeps and trills from R2. Luke remained silent as he started up the ship, his emotions a wave of conflict. He was ecstatic over the revelation that Leia was his sister, but that joy was weighed down by the mere fact of who their father was… and that Leia had to kill him.

All his life, Luke had never cared who his biological parents were. He had always known he was adopted — it had never been hidden from him — but he simply hadn’t cared. Bail and Breha Organa were his parents, and he had been their son, no matter what blood ran in his veins. The only time he had ever asked after his birth parents had been when he was eleven, and his etiquette tutor had begun teaching him about the genealogy of the Elder Houses. He had grown curious about his own ancestry, and had asked his mother and father about it. They had told him that they didn’t know anything about who his birth parents had been; he had been a war orphan, and no records about them had survived.

He wondered now if they had known the truth — if they had known about Vader. And about Leia.

He glanced over his shoulder into the hold. Leia was sitting on the bench, elbows on her knees as she stared somberly at her palms. He found himself searching her profile for some sort of familial resemblance, comparing her features to his own.

His musings stopped when Leia looked up at him and smiled. It was strained, but still warm, and Luke smiled back. She stood and moved into the co-pilot’s chair beside him.

“I always wanted a brother, you know,” she said, “even though I knew it wasn’t possible. My parents were dead, or so I thought, and my aunt and uncle couldn’t afford another child. But I still imagined what it would be like — all the games we would play, and the trouble we would get into.”

Luke’s smile grew as he began preparing the ship for take-off. He had had similar daydreams as a child. “Not a sister?” he asked, and Leia shook her head.

“No. Always a brother.”

“It was a sister for me,” he said. “When I was young, around five or so, I _begged_ my parents for a sister. They were rather firm in turning down my requests.” He paused, his smile slipping from his face as he went through a quick pre-flight checklist. “Looking back on it, I think they must have known — about Vader, and about you.”

“Ben said that we were separated for our own protection,” Leia explained. “The Emperor would have seen us as a threat, and Vader probably would have seen us as a tool. We were safer on opposite ends of the galaxy than we ever could have been together.”

“I wonder if they ever would have told me,” Luke mumbled, more to himself than Leia. He had been nineteen when Alderaan was destroyed, already a Senator and an adult by nearly all galactic standards. He had fulfilled his three challenges of the Body, the Mind, and the Heart, and been proclaimed the rightful heir to the throne. If his parents had not told him the truth about his birth family by then, when would they have?

“They kept the truth from you to protect you,” Leia said. “My aunt and uncle did the same. If Vader had ever learned of us when we were younger… who knows where we would be now.”   

Luke nodded. The thought of Vader sent another wave of nausea roiling through his stomach. That monster was his biological father; he shared his blood, his genes. He wished it didn’t matter so much to him, but the thought of being related to the man who had tortured him and had had a hand in the destruction of his homeworld…

He pushed the thought away, telling himself that he wasn’t changed by learning who his father was any more than he was changed by learning of his relationship to Leia. He had not been so harsh on her when they had learned of her parentage. Really, he had gained more than he had lost — he had a sister now. He had already loved her as one of his closest friends, but learning that she was his twin made that love grow tenfold.

The engines to the U-wing roared to life, and Luke began to lift the ship off the ground. Branches clattered against the hull, but they made it above the trees without incident. The dry season made the weather a bit calmer, and as they zipped up through the atmosphere he looked over at Leia again.

“When you pulled me from that escape pod on Tatooine, did you ever think we would end up here?” he asked.

She smiled. “Not here exactly,” she said, “but I think some part of me has always known, somehow. Not enough to put it into words, but enough to know there was something there.”

The ship broke through the clouds, and as they climbed higher and higher, the grey-blue of the sky melted away to black. Luke watched the stars blink into existence above them, and took in a deep breath. Darth Vader might have been his father, but Leia was his sister. That was the part that mattered.

“You won’t have to face Vader alone,” he said, hoping his implication was clear. He would go with her, if she needed him. It didn’t matter to him what Obi-Wan had said.

She looked at him, silent, and the expression on her face was unreadable.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> find me on tumblr at leiaskywalkvr!


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> happy Star Wars day, and may the Force be with you all!

The war room on _Home One_ was packed, every seat taken and every wall lined with soldiers, pilots, and officers of all species. It seemed as if anyone of any importance to the Rebellion had been called to the briefing — and with good reason. Mon Mothma, leader of the Rebel Alliance, stood in front of the round holotable in the middle of the room. Her face was serious, even more so than usual, and everyone was silent as she spoke.

Luke and Leia came in halfway through her speech, lingering in the doorway as she relayed the information that had been brought to the Alliance only a few short days before. Luke already knew most of it; High Command had spent hours discussing this new development, going over the implications and possible plans of attack. But those hours spent discussing the Empire’s new technological terror did not make it any easier to see it projected into the centre of the room, a red circle orbiting a much larger green moon.

A second Death Star.

How the Empire had managed to get so far into the construction of another supersized battle station in just a few short years, Luke did not know. And while this Death Star was not yet operational, it was much larger than its predecessor, and its weapons were likely stronger. Once they went online, the Rebel Alliance wouldn’t stand a chance. They had to stop it while they could, and prevent the Empire from doing to a dozen planets what it had done to Alderaan.  

Luke could still the green laser striking his home planet, blowing it to debris and killing everyone on it, including his parents. The pain of a destroyed homeworld was not one he would wish on anyone.

Mothma paused in her speech, her eyes roving across the Rebels gathered before her. Luke had known her for most of his life. She had tutored him in galactic diplomacy and politics as a child, and had been a close friend to his father. So, while her voice was calm and even, he could see just how deeply this development had shaken her, in the way her hands clung to the holotable. “But most important of all,” she said, “we’ve learned that the Emperor himself is personally overseeing the final stages of the construction of this Death Star.”

The room tittered as the implication of these words sunk in. The Emperor did not often leave Coruscant, where he was nigh unreachable. This chance at taking down the second Death Star was also a chance at taking down the Emperor himself — and the Galactic Empire with him.

Mothma’s voice grew quiet as she spoke again. “Many Bothans died to bring us this information.” She glanced down, briefly, before stepping away from the holotable and motioning to Admiral Gial Ackbar, positioned behind her. “Admiral Ackbar, please.”

With a nod, the Mon Calamari officer stepped forward, taking Mothma’s place at the holotable. “You can see here the Death Star orbiting the forest moon of Endor. Although the weapons systems of this Death Star are not yet operational, it does have a strong defense mechanism. It is protected by an energy shield, generated from the nearby forest moon of Endor. The shield must be deactivated if any attack is to be attempted. Once the shield is down, our cruisers will create a perimeter, while the fighters fly into the superstructure and attempt to knock out the main reactor.”

As he spoke, the hologram of the moon disappeared and that of the Death Star grew, pathways to the main reactor laid out in yellow. The hologram played through a simulation of the attack, and as the Death Star exploded, Ackbar reached forward and shut off the holotable’s projection.

“General Calrissian has volunteered to lead the fighter attack,” Ackbar said, motioning with one webbed hand to where Lando sat, dressed in a tan officer’s uniform. He had added his own Calrissian flair to the outfit with a light grey cape.

Leia looked up at Luke in surprise. “General?” she mouthed, and he shrugged — it was news to him, too. Lando had spent the last six months helping the Alliance rescue Han, but as far as Luke knew, he had never formally joined the Rebellion. He had just assumed that, once Han was safe, Lando would go back to his conning ways. But apparently not.

Lando noticed Luke’s gaze on him, and gave him a quick smile and a wink. Luke looked quickly back to Admiral Ackbar, hoping his blush wasn’t obvious. He was surprised that Lando had joined the Alliance, and been promoted to general as well, but he was also pleased.

“Good luck,” Han said to his old friend, loud enough for most of the room to hear. His next sentence was a bit quieter, but Luke was able to catch it. “You’re gonna need it.” 

Ackbar stepped back, looking to Crix Madine. “General Madine,” he introduced, and the bearded general moved towards the holotable.

“We have stolen a small Imperial shuttle,” he announced. “Disguised as a cargo ship, and using a secret Imperial code, a strike team will land on the moon and deactivate the shield generator.”

A mumble passed through the room, and Leia leaned in towards Luke. “I wonder who they found to pull that off,” she muttered.

“General Solo.” Madine looked across the room to where Han sat. “Is your strike team assembled?”

Leia’s eyes widened in shock, and Luke grinned. It was a day full of surprises, it seemed.

“Uh, my team’s ready,” Han said, obviously a bit uncomfortable with all the attention being directed at him. “But I don’t have a command crew for the shuttle.”

Beside him, Chewie let out a loud growl and raised one furry paw in the air. Han looked to him, placing a hand on his shoulder.

“It’s gonna be rough, pal. I didn’t want to speak for you.”

Chewie nodded, raising his hand again and growling his commitment. Han smiled.

“That’s one,” he said to Madine.

Leia stepped out of the doorway. “Count me in, General,” she said, descending the steps into the centre of the room. Han’s smile grew even wider at the sight of her.

Luke followed her down. “I’m with you, too,” he said.

Han stood, warmly placing his hands on Leia’s shoulders as she hurried forward to greet him. Luke let them have their moment, or whatever it was they were doing, and turned towards Lando and Chewie. The Wookiee gave him a bruising pat on the back and a cheerful growl by way of welcome.

“Ah, hey Chewie,” Luke said, nodding at the Wookiee.

Lando walked over with his usual cocky smile on his face. “Good to see you again, Your Highness,” he said, resting one hand on Luke’s upper arm.

Luke smiled back. “You as well, General.”

Lando’s grin widened, turning from confident to genuinely pleased. It didn’t slip from his face even as Han sauntered over, slinging an arm across Luke’s shoulders and pulling him away to begin discussing the attack on the shield generator. Luke glanced back, his eyes catching Lando’s, and Lando winked again, that happy smile still on his face, before he turned away to begin his own preparations.

◊◊◊

The main hangar of _Home One_ was a mess of commotion. Pilots ran about, helmets in hand as they headed for their ships. Mechanics fueled up starfighters and made last-minute repairs, droids skittering about near their feet. The sounds of engines and clanking metal made it difficult to hear, and the people yelling to be heard only made it all the louder.

Luke stood at the bottom of the ramp, staring up at the Imperial shuttle that would hopefully be taking them past the blockade of Star Destroyers surrounding Endor. It was a _Lambda_ -class T-4a, apparently called the _Tydirium_ , with more than enough room in its cargo bay for the entire strike team. Soldiers had been slowly trickling into the shuttle for the past ten minutes, dressed in helmets and camouflaging ponchos. They were all SpecForce Pathfinders, making them more than capable of carrying out this mission. Luke recognized nearly all of them from previous endeavours.

He nodded to the soldiers as they embarked, pretending to be busy with something on his datapad. In reality, he was just mindlessly flicking through reports on the Death Star II that he had already read dozens of times, trying to stall before he had to get on the shuttle and begin warming it up for take-off. Leia was already in there, running the soldiers through the attack plan.

Han’s voice sounded through the din, and Luke looked up to see him strolling through the hangar towards the _Tydirium_ , Lando at his side. The two seemed to be talking rather animatedly about something, though Luke couldn’t hear what it was. Han kept making sweeping gestures towards the _Millennium Falcon_ , docked just beside the Imperial shuttle, his tone needling. Eventually they seemed to reach a consensus, and Han continued on towards the _Tydirium_ while Lando remained where he was. When he reached the bottom of the ramp, he looked back to Lando, and the two gave each other a quick salute. 

“Good luck,” Lando said, and Han nodded.

“You, too.”

He gave Luke a quick look, before hurrying up into the shuttle. Luke watched him go, and then turned his attention to Lando, who was slowly making his way over to him, a smile on his face.

“What was that about?” Luke asked.

“He was giving me the _Falcon_ , to use in the assault on the Death Star,” Lando explained, pointing over his shoulder to Han’s beloved freighter.

Luke nodded. “Stay… stay safe out there, alright?” he said, forcing himself to meet Lando’s eyes. When he had first met the scoundrel back on Cloud City, he had thought he’d had him pegged from the beginning — a suave, untrustworthy smooth-talker who was too confident for his own good. Lando’s betrayal had only worked to convince Luke that he was right, but the past few months, and his joining the Rebellion, had shown the opposite. Lando had worked just as hard as any of them to get Han back, and he’d since wholeheartedly volunteered his services to the Alliance. It had taken some time, but Luke had forgiven him for turning them over to the Empire. He had only been looking out for his people — a position Luke knew all too well.

And he really was one smooth talker.

Lando’s lips stretched out in another genuine smile, warmer and more endearing than his usual devilish smirks. “You, too,” he said, and moved to turn away — but Luke stopped him, reaching his hand out to grip his wrist.

He pulled Lando closer and, before he could stop himself and think about what he was about to do, kissed him. It was quick and chaste, just a second-long brushing of their lips, but it was enough to make Luke’s heart thunder in his chest and his cheeks flush pink. Lando, on the other hand, didn’t even look fazed. His smile widened, and he actually had the gall to look _sweet_.

Luke took a step back and lowered his eyes, unable to meet Lando’s gaze. “Be careful,” he said, and didn’t even wait for Lando’s response before turning and hurrying up into the shuttle.

He went straight for the cockpit, where Han and Chewie had already started the warm-up sequence. Leia was lounging in one of the passenger seats, and she looked up when he entered, purposefully meeting his eyes. She quirked an eyebrow at him, an amused look on her face, and Luke suddenly felt very sorry for teasing her about Han. He didn’t know if she had seen the kiss or if she could just tell that something was up, but she seemed to have a good enough idea of what was going on.

Thankfully all her remarks remained silent, and she allowed Luke to settle into his chair as Han and Chewie finished the start-up sequence.

“We all set?” Han asked, glancing over his shoulder to Leia.

She nodded. “Everyone’s accounted for and ready.”

Han let out a deep breath, facing forward once more and placing his hands on the control yoke. “Alright, then,” he said. “Let’s do this.”

◊◊◊

Endor was beautiful. Leia stood at the top of a small hill, a narrow dirt path stretching out ahead of her through the thick forest. Ferns and bushes covered the ground, obscuring it in a mass of green foliage. The trees were the largest she’d ever seen, their reddish-brown trunks stretching high up into the clear sky. It was the sort of place she had only ever dreamed of as a child — a paradise.

The _Tydirium_ was docked behind them, nestled amongst the plants. The strike team moved through the forest in single-file, sticking to the path that wound between trees and down small hillocks. In the short report on Endor that Leia had been given, there was nothing about any sentient native species, and so she assumed that the path had been made by the moon’s Imperial occupiers.

Han lead the way for their small party, with Leia following just behind him. Chewie and Luke were behind her, and the rest of the Pathfinders stretched on after them. C-3PO and R2-D2 brought up the rear, bumping along across the gnarled roots that stuck up in the middle of the path. Unseen birds chirped at them from the high branches of the trees, and Leia couldn’t help the small smile that snuck its way onto her face. The animals made the forest far from quiet, but it was still peaceful — almost enough to make her forget why they were trekking through the trees.

Up ahead, Han stopped suddenly, holding out his arm and signalling for everyone to get down. The troops obeyed quickly, all of them dropping into a crouch, blasters in hand. Leia listened, ears straining for whatever it was that had made Han stop. It was quiet, but she could just hear the soft murmur of chatter beneath the singing of the birds, coming from up ahead.

Stooping low, Han continued along the path, and Leia and Luke followed. Chewie was right behind them, letting out a soft growl of concern. There was a ravine up ahead, the path cutting sharply to the left. They kept going to the edge, dropping to their bellies and crawling the rest of the way. Leia peeked up over the mossy edge, down into the ravine, where two scout troopers were kicking about in the brush. A pair of speeder bikes were parked nearby.

“Should we try to go around?” Leia asked, glancing to Han and Luke, crouched down on either side of her.

“It’ll take time,” Luke said.

“This whole party’ll be for nothing if they see us,” Han countered. Chewie bayed his agreement. Han cast a glance at his co-pilot, then shot up quickly onto his knees. “Chewie and I will take care of this,” he told Luke and Leia. “You two stay here.”

“Quietly,” Luke said, as Han struggled to turn around without being seen by the troopers below. “There might be more of them down there.”

Han shot them both a confident smile. “Hey, it’s me.” And then he crawled away into the bushes, following after Chewie.

Leia raised a skeptical eyebrow, and turned to look at Luke. They shared a small smile, before focusing back down into the ravine, where the scout troopers were fiddling with some sort of machine implanted in the ground. It was likely a sensor of some kind, set up to alert the Empire if anything moved past. Leia watched as Han and Chewie snuck down the side of the ravine and through the trees, hiding behind two thick trunks.

Han waited until both troopers had their backs turned and then crept out from behind the tree, blaster in hand as he quietly followed one of the scout troopers — until he stepped on a stick, and it snapped so loudly that even Leia could hear it.

The trooper spun around and, seeing Han, swung at him with his fists. Han stumbled back, tripping over a root and accidentally firing his blaster in the process. The trooper looked to his comrade. “Go for help!” he called. “Go!” The other trooper dashed for his bike.

“Great,” Luke said, exasperated, as he and Leia both scrambled to their feet. “Come on!” They ran into the ravine, going as quickly as they could down the steep sides. Han tussled with one scout trooper, while the other hopped onto his bike and sped away. Chewie, however, was quick to fire on him with his bowcaster, and after one direct hit the bike blew up in flames.

Not too far away, Leia spotted another pair of scout troopers, already poised atop their speeder bikes. Reaching the bottom of the ravine, she pointed to them and called out, “Over there! Two more of them!” Seeing her notice them, the two troopers took off, leaving behind an unoccupied third bike. She dashed for it, jumping up onto the seat and starting the engine.

“Wait, Leia!” Luke cried, and then he was hopping onto the bike behind her, grabbing tightly onto her waist as she sped off in the direction of the two troopers.

They weren’t too far ahead, and their white armour made them easy to spot amongst the trees. She leaned forward, gripping the handles and urging the bike to move as fast as it could. The two troopers stuck close together, even as they weaved between the towering trees.

“Jam their comlink!” Luke said, yelling to be heard over the rush of the wind. He pointed to a button on the bike’s controls. “Centre switch!”

“I know, I know!” She flipped the switch, and pushed forward on the throttle. Up ahead, the troopers lifted their bikes up and over a gargantuan fallen log. Ducking her head down, Leia pushed her bike through a small gap created from where the trunk still rested against its stump — just like threading the Needle in Beggar’s Canyon back home. It was a feat she had only accomplished a handful of times, but the bikes were much more maneuverable than the old souped-up T-16 skyhoppers she and her friends used to fly, and so they passed under the log with ease.

“Move closer!” Luke called.

“I’m trying!” Leia retorted. The speeder bike was going as fast it physically could. The scouts bobbed and weaved in between the trees, reckless in their attempt to get away. One of them scraped their bike up against a tree, slowing them down slightly and creating a gap between the two scouts. Leia began to catch up to them, closing the distance.

“Get alongside that one!” Luke said, and Leia veered the bike towards the trooper. The two speeder bikes crashed together. Leia gritted her teeth, and rammed into the trooper again. He rammed back, and Leia tightened her grip on the handles.

Luke moved his hands from her waist to her shoulders, and the next thing she knew he was jumping across the gap between the two bikes. He landed practically on top of the scout, and the two grappled for a moment before Luke managed to toss the trooper off the bike. He hit with a resounding _thud_ against a tree.

Now in control of his own bike, Luke and Leia chased on after the second scout. They weren’t too far behind, and if they kept up their pace they’d probably be able to catch him.

A bolt suddenly exploded in the back of Leia’s bike, and she cried out as the blast jolted her. Glancing back, she saw two more scouts atop speeder bikes in hot pursuit. As she watched, one of them fired another shot from the blaster cannons on the front of their bike. She looked over to Luke.

“Keep on that one!” he cried, pointing to the trooper still racing away in front of them. “I’ll take these two!”

She nodded, and Luke slammed on his brakes. He was out of sight in seconds.

She kept on her course, following after the white-suited trooper. She was gaining on him, but not fast enough. There was no telling how many other scout troopers were littered throughout the forest, and the fewer people that joined this party, the better. She pulled back on the bike’s controls, and it began to lift into the air. It wouldn’t go very high — the repulsors would stop working if she got too far from the ground, and in any case the wide branches of the trees would stop her before she got to that point. But she didn’t need to go that high.

The bike rose, swerving between the trees and dodging a few low-hanging branches. Down below, the scout glanced over his shoulder and, not seeing her, sped up. Leia did the same, creeping up on the trooper from behind. Once she was close enough, she swooped down towards him, her thumbs finding the cannon triggers and firing. One of the bolts just barely scraped past the back of his bike, but it didn’t do any damage or slow him down.

She brought the bike down on the other side of him. They were side-by-side, separated by trees that kept them from getting any closer to each other. Their front-facing cannons were useless in this position, and so they simply raced along beside each other, stuck in an odd sort of stalemate.

Leia glanced over to the trooper, and saw him pulling a blaster from his holster. He aimed the weapon at her and fired, but she ducked and the bolt sailed past above her head. She scrambled for her lightsaber, hooked onto her belt, but by the time she had it free the trooper had already fired again, twice in quick succession.

The first bolt went wide, but the second struck the back of her bike, right on the engine. It stalled, and the bike jerked violently. She was thrown from her seat, lightsaber slipping from her hand as she reached out with the Force to cushion her fall. It slowed her descent and she landed, uninjured, on the ground. Her bike continued on without her, wobbling slightly before crashing into a tree and exploding in a blaze of fire.

As she watched, the scout glanced back, seemingly satisfied that she had been dispatched. But when he turned back to face the front, it was to find a large fallen trunk directly in his path. Unable to maneuver away in time, he crashed, his bike exploding just as hers had and leaving a dark scorch mark on the bark of the tree.

Leia fell back against the cushy moss beneath her, and let out a deep sigh of relief.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> you can find me on tumblr at leiaskywalkvr


	5. Chapter 5

Leia’s relief did not last long.

She lay back in the moss for as long as it took for her heart to steady. Once it had calmed, she sat up, brushing dirt and plant from her hands and looking about at her surroundings. This part of the forest looked the same as all the rest — tall trees, green ferns, rotting logs covered in moss and fungi. There was no path here, and no way to tell her in which direction she had to go. They had taken so many turns during the chase that the rest of the strike team could be anywhere. The entire moon was a thick, never-ending forest; her chances of finding everyone else by simply wandering amongst the trees were very slim.

Pulling off her helmet, Leia shook out her sweaty, damp hair and dug her comlink out of her pocket. “Hello?” she said, putting it to her mouth. “Come in. Can anyone hear me? This is Captain Skywalker. Come in.” She lowered the comlink, waiting for a response, but all that came through was static. The comms must have been jammed.

She shoved the useless apparatus back into her pocket, grumbling curses and muttering unhappily to herself — until she heard the sound of dead leaves behind her, crunching underfoot.

Someone was coming towards her, creeping silently through the growth.

She went quiet, and slowly moved her hand to her belt, only to find that her lightsaber was gone. She had dropped it when she fell from the bike.

Her eyes roved across the ground, searching for the ‘saber. It couldn’t have fallen too far away. The person behind her grew closer, moving slowly, inch by threatening inch. It wasn’t Luke, or any other Rebels, and if it was a scout trooper she would already have been shot. She bit her lip, holding back a curse; whoever it was, they were now practically right behind her.

A glint of metal shone beneath the leafy stalks of a fern — her lightsaber. She reached her hand out towards it, and called the weapon towards her. It reacted readily, flying into her open palm. Closing her hand around the hilt, she spun to face her would-be assailant, igniting the green blade.

But instead of a trooper or some other agent of the Empire, she found instead a small, furry creature. He was barely three-feet tall, and held in his hand a short, primitive spear. He was covered from head to toe in light brown fur, and his dark eyes were wide, though Leia didn’t know if that was their natural shape or from the shock of seeing her lightsaber ignite so suddenly. On the creature’s head was some sort of cloth hood, with holes cut out for his face and rounded ears. As Leia and this little creature observed each other, both a bit unsure of what to do next, she realized that he looked rather like a miniature Wookiee, or even a child’s stuffed toy.

He was regarding her with awe, his mouth open slightly to reveal two large front teeth. He didn’t seem as if he was going to hurt her; he appeared to be more apprehensive and curious than dangerous. Climbing slowly to her feet, Leia extinguished her lightsaber, the blade disappearing with a sharp whir. The little creature gave a quiet cry of surprise, jumping back a bit and adjusting his grip on his spear.

“Don’t worry,” she said, slipping the ‘saber back onto her belt. “I won’t hurt you. I promise.”

The creature said something in an incomprehensible language, pointing the tip of his spear at her lightsaber.

“It’s a lightsaber,” Leia explained, though she was sure the little thing couldn’t understand her any more than she could understand him. “Lightsaber. It’s a weapon.” She tapped on the end of his spear. “Like this.”

He moved the spear aside and leaned down, shuffling to get a closer look at the ‘saber. He chattered quietly in his strange, squeaky language, though Leia couldn’t tell if he was talking to her or to himself. Slowly, he began to stretch his hand towards the hilt, but Leia reached down and stopped him before he could. He yelped in surprise, scurrying backwards and bowing his head low, as if asking for forgiveness.

“I’m not mad,” Leia explained. “But it’s dangerous. You might hurt yourself.”

The creature’s head remained bowed, and his quiet mumblings continued. Slowly, Leia stepped towards him. placing a gentle hand on his shoulder. His fur was coarse, like Chewie’s, though it wasn’t nearly so long. The creature looked up at her, letting out a gasp of awe, and Leia smiled. It seemed as if her trick with her lightsaber earlier had impressed the little thing. His wariness was seeping away, replaced with a sort of reverence. It was strange, but something she had gotten relatively used to — people reacted all sorts of ways when they learned that she was a Jedi, even if they didn’t know what exactly a Jedi was.

“Do you think you can help me?” she asked. “I seem to be in a bit of a bind. I need to get back to my friends, you see, but I don’t really know where they are.”

The creature blinked his wide, glassy eyes at her, and squeaked out a sentence in his bubbly language. Leia sighed. Now would be a wonderful time to have 3PO around.

“You have no idea what I’m—” she began, but stopped as the creature suddenly straightened, turning his gaze to the trees. He growled quietly, and sniffed at the air — he seemed to have heard something in the forest.

Leia searched the spaces between the trunks. She couldn’t see anything — not a scout trooper’s white armour, or a Rebel’s green poncho. Everything seemed peaceful; the branches were still, and a strange bird call echoed in the distance.

But she could feel something in the Force, a ripple of movement and danger. Her hand went to her lightsaber, pulling it from her belt. She held it at the ready as both she and the furry creature waited, their breathing slow and quiet.

A blaster bolt sailed out from the trees. Leia had her lightsaber ignited in seconds, using the shimmering blade to deflect the bolt. The little creature shrieked and dove for cover, rolling over a nearby log into the tall ferns. Leia still couldn’t see their assailant, but it was almost certainly a scout trooper. And there might be more than one.

Another bolt came flying towards her. She blocked it easily with her ‘saber, and used the Force to send it back to its shooter. She could sense them behind a tree, a few metres in front of her, and let the bolt strike its bark. And nearby there was another scout, closer to her, sneaking towards her through the underbrush…

She spun, slashing out her with lightsaber. The blade swiped savagely across the chest of a scout trooper, easily slicing through the plastoid, and they dropped to the ground, dead. Their comrade came charging out from the trees, calling out to her. They raised their blaster, but as they pulled the trigger, something rammed into their legs, causing the bolt to shoot into the sky.

Leia ran forward, vaulting over a mossy log. The little fuzzy creature was jabbing at the trooper with his spear, and the trooper, irritated, was kicking at him.

“Hey!” Leia called, hurrying towards them, ‘saber blazing. “Leave him alone!”

Surprised, the trooper looked up at her and fired their blaster. She diverted the bolt and redirected it back towards them. It struck them in the chest and, after a few shocked moments, they fell back into the bushes with a rather final thud.

Breathing deeply, Leia extinguished her lightsaber and hooked it onto her belt. The creature looked up at her, wonderment and reverence in his eyes. Leia stretched her hand out towards him. “Come on,” she said, as he slipped his furry little paw into her palm. “Let’s get out of here, before any more of them show up.”

◊◊◊

Luke stood in the middle of a clearing, gazing around at the surrounding trees. He could hear Han, Chewie, and the droids kicking through the brush not too far away. After dispatching the two scout troopers that had attacked him and Leia, he had found his way back to the rest of the strike team only to discover that Leia still hadn’t returned. The five of them had set off to find her, while the rest of the strike team had carried on to the shield generator. They had roughly followed the path of Luke and Leia’s speeder bike chase, hoping that they might find Leia, or some sign of her, somewhere along the way.

There were signs of a struggle in the clearing. Luke had taken a tracking course at sixteen, as part of his challenge of the body for his Day of Demand, but even if he hadn't, the indications of a fight were so obvious that they were impossible to miss. The moss covering the ground was kicked up in strange places, and his suspicions were only confirmed when he found the body of a scout trooper only a few feet away, a charred gash in the chest of his armour. Leia’s helmet rested nearby.

He bent down, taking the helmet in his hands, his mind already jumping to the worst conclusions. She couldn’t be dead. Surely he would have felt it — they were twins, after all, and, according to Leia, they had a strong Force bond. He wasn’t entirely sure of the specifics of such a bond, but it must mean that he would be able to sense if she had been hurt.

Keeping a tight hold of her helmet, he did a quick search of the rest of the clearing and surrounding area. It turned up another dead scout trooper, this one with a blaster wound. But there were no more signs of Leia, meaning she must have continued on after the scuffle was over. Which meant that if she was injured, it wasn’t badly.

A bit further into the forest he found two speeder bikes, completely undamaged. They had likely belonged to the two scout troopers in the clearing.

“Luke! Luke!” Han’s voice sounded from somewhere deeper in the trees, and Luke ran towards it. A short distance away he found Han, Chewie, and the droids standing around the charred, smoking remains of a third bike. It seemed to have crashed into a nearby tree, whose bark was similarly singed. Luke guessed that it was the bike Leia had been riding; she must have fallen from it somehow and ended up in that clearing, where those two scouts had attacked her. Chewie let out a soft, mournful wail.

“There are two more speeders back there, both intact,” Luke said, “though I can’t say the same for their riders. And I found this.” He held up Leia’s helmet, then tossed it towards Han, who caught it deftly in his hands. He turned it around, his face grim.

“I’m afraid that Artoo’s sensors can find no trace of Mistress Leia,” 3PO said. Luke frowned.

“I hope she’s alright,” Han said, his worry obvious in his voice.

Luke looked to him, and tried to make his expression hopeful. “Don’t worry. We’ll find her.”

He roved his gaze across the trees. They all looked the same, making it difficult to tell which direction was which. He motioned back towards the clearing. “Come on, this way.” He took off back through the trees, and everyone else followed without much protest.

Starting near the area of the fight, Luke searched around for any signs of which direction Leia might have left in. His tracking was rusty, and their own footprints and those of the scout troopers only worked to make things more difficult. But he had a good idea of which footprints were Leia’s — hers were the only ones, besides his, that seemed to lead away from the clearing. And while that alone probably wouldn’t have convinced him, he had this… feeling that he was right. That if he kept walking in that direction, he would find her.

Their Force bond at work, he supposed.

“I think she went this way,” he said.

Han stepped up beside him, Leia’s helmet still in his hands. “How can you be so sure?”

“Tracking,” Luke said, and smiled, pointing out the soft, barely-visible imprints in the dirt. “I took a course once.”

Han gave him a skeptical look, letting out a deep sigh. “Well,” he said, “it’s all we’ve got.”

But Luke didn’t even bother trying to follow the footsteps as they set off through the trees. He remembered how he had chased after Leia through the bowels of Cloud City, following a gut instinct and the occasional, distant sounds of a lightsaber duel. Now, just like then, he knew where he was going.

◊◊◊

They had not been walking long when the sound of engines up ahead made them stop. Luke dropped to a crouch, motioning for the others to do the same, and crept slowly forward, making sure that he remained shrouded by the bushes and trees. Through the growth, he could just barely see the gleaming white armour of half a dozen scout troopers; some still sat atop their speeder bikes, while others had dismounted and were circling around the area, as if establishing some sort of perimeter.

Luke looked back to where Han was kneeling beside him. “Scout troopers,” he whispered. “There are six of them. What should we...” He trailed off, his forehead creasing and his lips turning down in a frown. He peered past Han, where R2’s domed head and 3PO’s golden face were visible amongst the ferns. And where a certain seven-foot tall Wookiee was nowhere to be seen. “Where’s Chewie?” he asked.

Han glanced over his shoulder, and let out an exasperated sigh. He shuffled past Luke, peering out to where the scout troopers were patrolling. “I don’t see him out there,” he muttered. “Who knows where — wait, what’s that?”

Luke poked his head out alongside Han’s. “What? What is it?”

“There’s something in the bushes,” Han whispered. “Look.”

Luke scanned the trees around the troopers, searching for any sign of movement. Sure enough, something brown and furry darted past, scurrying from one tree to another. It was too fast for him to get a good look, but it definitely looked like Chewie. “What’s he doing?” Luke asked, but then paused, as another flurry of movement caught his attention. This one was also fast and fuzzy, but its fur was black. Definitely not Chewbacca. He looked to Han. “Do you see this?”

The anxious expression on Han’s face told him that he did. “I have a bad feeling about this,” he mumbled.

No sooner had the words left his mouth than an arrow flew out from the bushes, striking one of the troopers. It did little damage to his plastoid armour, and Luke heard the scout cry out in confusion. Seconds later, the forest seemed to erupt in a burst of arrows, all of them concentrated on the troopers. One missed and struck the tree they were crouched behind, only inches from Luke’s face.

The troopers fired wildly into the trees, and Luke and Han both ducked back to avoid being shot. As the barrage of blaster fire continued, there came a high-pitched war cry of squeaky voices. Luke peeked out from behind the trunk, and watched in confusion as a herd of tiny, fur-covered creatures barreled out from the forest and converged on the troopers. They were brandishing spears, bows, and hatchets, and as they charged they cried out phrases in a strange, rolling language.

“Han, you’ve got to see this,” he said, and Han’s head appeared below Luke’s.

“What the…”

The troopers seemed momentarily caught off guard by the charge, but quickly regained themselves and began fighting back. They were much bigger than the little creatures, and they had blasters, which were significantly more effective than the primitive weapons brandished by the forest dwellers. Only a few moments in, and several of them had already fallen.

“We’ve got to help them,” Luke said, pulling his blaster out from its holster.

“What? Hey, kid!” Han reached out to stop him, but Luke was already stepping out from behind the tree. The scout troopers were distracted by the creatures, and so they did not see him — not until he fired his blaster and struck one of them in the chest. He quickly ducked back behind the tree, as a barrage of laserfire blasted towards him. Han glared at him, obviously unimpressed. Luke smiled.

Han let out a groan. “Alright,” he said, unholstering his own blaster. “Let’s do this.”

Luke hurried out from behind the tree, ducking low as he ran towards the fight. The little creatures were swarming the remaining five scout troopers, making it more difficult for them to deal with him. He pressed up against a tree and took aim, blasting one trooper in the arm. One of the creatures scuffling about near them took a swing at their legs with its spear, and the trooper went tumbling to the ground, where they were quickly set upon by more of the fur balls.

Another trooper kicked out, sending one of the creatures flying before aiming their blaster at Luke. He ducked quickly behind the tree, and a shot rang out; when he glanced back out, it was to see the trooper fallen, and Han standing across the way, pistol still aimed.

A cry sounded from high in the trees, and Luke looked up to see a small contingent of wooden, leather-winged gliders descending from up in the branches, each with a little furry creature hanging below it. They each held a large rock in their small paws, and as the gliders passed over the scout troopers they dropped their loads, like primitive bombers. Most missed their mark, falling harmlessly to the ground, but one struck a scout directly on the head, knocking them over to be finished off.

The gliders swooped down, landing gently back on solid ground. Their riders were quick to join the fray, taking up spears and hatchets. Only two scouts remained and, though the creatures were small and their weapons were primitive, they vastly outnumbered the troopers. Before Luke could even think to fire his blaster again, the Imperial agents had been taken down, overwhelmed by the little things and their spears.

When the last trooper had fallen, the creatures let out a loud victory cry, waving their weapons joyously above their heads. But their celebrations lasted for only a few seconds. Those weapons soon turned on Luke and Han, the creatures growling threateningly. Slowly, Luke placed his blaster on the ground, raising his empty hands in a show of peace.

“We aren’t here to hurt you,” he said, glancing nervously to Han, who was glaring at the spears being jabbed in his face. “We want to help.”

One of the creatures stepped forward. He was wearing a slightly more ornate headdress than the rest of his companions, which Luke took to mean he was something of a leader for them. He looked at Luke, and began speaking in a language Luke didn’t understand or even recognize. It seemed as if he was declaring something, but Luke simply shook his head helplessly.

“Threepio,” he called, looking over his shoulder into the woods, where the protocol droid was still lingering alongside R2. “Can you understand what they’re saying?”

“Oh, of course, Your Highness.” 3PO shuffled forward through the brush, nearly tripping several times in his hurry. “Remember, I am fluent in over six million forms of—”

He was cut off by a collective gasp rising from the forest creatures. All eyes seemed to turn to him as an excited murmur passed through the gathered crowd. They seemed to discuss the implications of 3PO's arrival, before, to Luke’s ever-increasing surprise, one of them began to chant. The others quickly followed suit, and soon the forest was filled with the sounds of their low, rhythmic chanting. They bowed repeatedly as they sang, seeming to prostrate themselves before C-3PO.

A bit put-off, 3PO began speaking in the creatures’ language. His words were stuttering and out of practice, but they seemed to understand him.

“What are you telling them?” Han asked.

“Hello, I think,” 3PO said. “I could be mistaken. They’re using a very primitive dialect. But I do believe they think I’m some sort of god.”

Han’s gaze caught Luke’s across the crowd, and Luke had to suppress a grin. Things could hardly get more outlandish than this.

“Well,” Han said, obviously fed-up with it all, “why don’t you use your divine influence and let them know that we aren’t going to hurt them?”

3PO nodded, and began to translate Han’s message. The leader seemed to consider his words, discussing them quietly with a few of his companions. After a moment, he gave his reply to 3PO.

“They acknowledge your help in dealing with the invaders,” 3PO said, “but you are still strangers with weapons.”

“We are no friends to the Empire,” Luke said, speaking directly to the leader, with 3PO translating for him. “We will put down our weapons. Truly, we mean you no harm.” Once 3PO had finished his translation, Luke nodded to Han. Hands in the air, Han knelt down to place his blaster on the ground. He seemed reluctant to relinquish it, but Luke had no doubt that he was even more reluctant to become a prisoner. One of the creatures quickly scurried forward to collect it, grabbing Luke’s pistol on the way.

The leader spoke again. “He wishes to know your purpose here,” 3PO translated.

“We are here to stop the Empire,” Luke explained. “We share a goal with you and your people. You can help us, and we can help you. We have more soldiers elsewhere on the moon, preparing to strike against the Imperials. I know the Empire, and I know they cannot have been kind to you. If you lend warriors and resources to us, we can work together to take them down. And we have also lost two of our friends, and your help would be greatly appreciated in locating them.” He paused, trying to read the leader’s reaction as 3PO translated. His face remained impassive, his foreign features impossible to interpret.

“If you trust us, we can free your planet and your people,” Luke continued. “That is all we want — freedom, for everyone in the galaxy.”

There was a heavy pause when 3PO stopped speaking. A quiet murmur passed among some of the creatures, but the leader remained silent. Nervous, Luke glanced over to Han, who gave him a reassuring nod. R2 beeped anxiously beside 3PO as their fate was decided.

Finally, the leader spoke. His proclamation was short, and as soon as he had finished the two pairs of Human eyes present quickly turned to C-3PO for clarification.

“Oh, what a relief,” the droid said. “He has decided that you will be brought to their village to discuss your offer further.”

“Not as prisoners?” Han asked.

“I don’t believe so, no.”

The leader turned to face his people and, throwing up his arms, made a loud, joyous announcement. An exuberant cry rose up in response, and the crowd swelled as they all rushed towards C-3PO, arms reaching to get a touch of his golden plating.

“Ah, it appears as if there will also be a feast in my honour,” 3PO said, head darting about as the crowd all but carried him away. “How flattering.”

As 3PO was swooped away, Han came up beside Luke, hands on his hips as he surveyed the strange scene before them.

“Good job, kid,” he said, glancing over at him. “You really saved our skins.”

Luke smiled. It had all just been basic diplomacy and negotiating, two things he had been raised to do practically since he could talk. Though of course his own life had never been at risk before.

“We’re not out of it yet,” he reminded Han, and they set off after the tide of revellers, R2 beeping in confusion behind them. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> you can find me on tumblr at leiaskywalkvr


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry that this chapter took way longer than expected to finish, but it there were some difficult parts to write and my life was pretty busy for a while. but hopefully things are back on track now :)

The procession of forest creatures led them along a winding, invisible trail through the trees. Luke could see no obvious markers of which direction to go in, but the creatures seemed to know the way all the same. Several of them had managed to pick C-3PO up, carrying him atop their shoulders like a king whose feet should never touch the ground. They all sang as they trudged their way through the thick brush, reciting tunes of good tidings in their alien language.

3PO probed his worshippers with questions, asking them various things about their species and culture. They were called Ewoks, apparently, and were the only sentient life native to Endor. The Empire had arrived on their moon some time ago, and the two groups had been clashing ever since. With their superior weapons and technology, the Empire had already managed to drive the Ewoks from many of their villages. Luke suspected that, if they were left unhindered, the Empire would either wipe out the entire species or ship them off to a life of slavery on some dusty mining planet.  

Up ahead, the parade suddenly slowed to a stop. The singing petered out to a dull hum and Luke, near the back of the crowd, peered above the multitude of furry heads to try and see what was going on. Many of the Ewoks were murmuring nervously to each other, and a few had broken off from the rest and were marching slowly through the trees, spears gripped at the ready in their paws.

Luke’s first thought was that they had stumbled upon another squad of scout troopers — but then he heard a very loud, very familiar growl coming from up ahead. He glanced at Han, who looked to him with a bewildered look on his face. R2 let out a loud string of beeps, saying aloud what they were all thinking: The growling sounded remarkably like Chewbacca.

With a slight nod, Han and Luke began to make their way to the front of the procession. The Ewoks who had gone to investigate had already disappeared into the trees, but it did not take Han and Luke long to catch up with them. Just a few metres through the trees they stumbled upon a clearing, where the group of Ewoks were jabbing a large, hanging net with their spears. Luke could clearly see Chewie curled up within the net, growling deep and low in his throat at the Ewoks and their weapons. What looked to be some sort of animal corpse was tucked in beside him.

“Chewie!” Han cried, throwing his arms wide as he took in the sight of his first mate rotating slowly in mid-air. “How did you end up in there?”

Chewie growled a meek response, something about wandering off to follow a scent and accidentally stepping into the trap.

“You always gotta think with your stomach, don’t you?” Han scolded.

In his defense, Chewie seemed as if he had been thoroughly chastised, both by Han and the net he currently found himself trapped in.

One of the Ewoks wandered to the edge of the clearing and kicked at a stake in the ground, attached to a long rope that wound its way up into the trees. The stake flew out, releasing the rope and sending the net plummeting to the ground. Chewie cried out in surprise and pain as he struck the hard earth, and then began to claw at the net in an attempt to free himself from it.

Chattering quickly to each other, the Ewoks began to approach the net, spears pointed towards Chewbacca. Luke ran to intercept them before they could do any actual harm.

“Wait,” he called, holding up his empty hands in a demand for peace. “Please, he’s one of us. He’s our friend. He won’t hurt you any more than we will.”

The Ewoks seemed confused and not at all reassured, keeping their spears raised as they continued to discuss the situation among themselves. Han hurried to Chewie’s side, helping to free him from the net. The Wookiee stood with an angered roar, kicking angrily at the rope that had trapped him. The Ewoks squeaked in surprise, and some took a few steps back, obviously frightened of the very large and very angry creature in front of them.  

“Hey, calm down, will you?” Han cried. “There’s no one here for you to get mad at except yourself! It’s your own fault you got stuck in that net, wandering off on your own!”

“And I would appreciate it if you didn’t frighten our new friends,” Luke added, hands still raised placatingly in the Ewoks’ direction.

Chewie growled a quiet excuse, but he seemed to have calmed down substantially. The Ewoks, though still wary, finally lowered their spears when they realized that Chewie wasn’t going to hurt them.

“There,” Luke said, letting out a relieved breath. “Everyone’s alright.”

A few of the Ewoks mumbled something quietly to themselves, obviously displeased with the situation, but it seemed as if they all trusted C-3PO’s judgement — if he believed that Luke and Han were good, and if Luke and Han believed that Chewie was good, then so would the Ewoks… at least for now. But just to be sure, one of them still dug Chewie’s bowcaster out from the net, to put with the other confiscated blasters.

The Ewoks led the way back to the rest of the party. A collective gasp went up when Chewie appeared, but a quick conversation between the leader and the Ewoks who had gone into the clearing seemed to put things to rest, and they continued on their way.

The sun had begun to set when they finally reached the Ewoks’ village. The entire thing sat nestled high up in the trees, the buildings set on wide platforms that were connected by long rope bridges. The way up to the village appeared to be hidden, and Luke likely would have missed the whole place entirely if he hadn’t been looking for it.

The congregation stopped below one of the thicker trees, and an Ewok called up a loud, sing-song greeting, like a sort of signal. A response came after only a second or two, followed by a rope ladder of questionable sturdiness that came flying down towards them. The Ewoks began to climb it without hesitation. Chewie regarded the way that the ladder swung and clacked against the tree with a nervous whimper, while R2 beeped his own apprehension, wondering how he might get up there without arms or legs.

The answer to that came in the form of a rope, tossed down by the first few Ewoks to reach the top. Those at the bottom tied it around R2’s middle, and sent him up into the air with a quick whistle. They then turned their attentions towards Han, Luke, and Chewie, urging them onto the ladder. Luke stepped on with only a deep intake of breath, but it took Han quite a bit of convincing to get the anxious Chewbacca to begin climbing.

It was an awfully long way up to platform, and it took the three of them far more time to reach it than it had any of the shorter-limbed Ewoks. Luke let out a deep sigh of relief when he finally stepped onto the sturdy wood of the platform, where R2 was waiting for them. Chewie seemed infinitely more comfortable on a solid surface; apparently the homes on his native Kashyyyk were built similarly, though the ways of getting up into them were a bit more refined.

3PO was one of the last to reach the top, hoisted up in a chair attached to several strands of rope. When everyone had climbed up, the ladder was retracted, and a procession through the village began. 3PO remained in his chair, carried atop the shoulders of several of the larger Ewoks like a king on a litter. Han, Luke, Chewie, and R2 were jostled into the centre of the group, where they were kept under the close watch of a half dozen armed warriors. The message was very clear that the Ewoks did not fully trust them yet.

Horns announced their arrival, and as they proceeded through the village they were joined by more and more revellers, all of them cheering and whooping in joy. Luke could hear the sound of rhythmic drumming in the distance, accompanied by even more chanting. It was as if this was a moment that they had been anticipating for a very long time.

After they had crossed more bridges and climbed more stairs than Luke could count, they finally reached the village centre. It sat high in the trees, amidst all the other buildings and platforms, by far the largest of them all. A few huts lined the edge, but most of it was left empty, creating a wide open space for the Ewoks to meet and celebrate.

3PO was placed on a raised dais near the front of the platform. The Ewoks gathered near his feet, chittering loudly and letting out high-pitched cries of celebration. Han, Luke, Chewie, and R2 were shuffled to a small space in the centre, where those Ewoks not occupied with C-3PO regarded them with equal measures of curiosity and hostility. It felt like they were being put on trial, and Luke suspected that was not too far from the truth. Despite 3PO’s assurances, they were still strangers to the Ewoks, and Luke was sure that the Empire had taught them well enough not to trust strangers. 

The crowd near 3PO parted, and a rather important-looking Ewok stepped through onto the dais. He wore an elaborate headdress, topped with the skull of some sort of bird, and he was carrying a staff draped in feathers and beads that rattled as he moved. Judging by the way the other Ewoks looked at him, he was no doubt an important member of their community; a sort of spiritual leader, or something similar.

He regarded 3PO with obvious awe, not daring to step too close to the droid but unable to keep his distance. After a moment, he turned to the assembled Ewoks and made some grand announcement, spreading his arms wide as he spoke. All eyes shifted to Han, Luke, Chewie, and R2. Luke simply stood there, unsure of what to do, while Han waved and chuckled uncomfortably.

“What’d he say, Threepio?” he asked, gaze darting between C-3PO and the many eyes focused on him.

“Oh, well, he’s being quite flattering, really,” 3PO said, bashful. “He says that I have come to them in their hour of need, and I have brought with me people who claim that they can help defeat the evil invaders. By which I believe he means the Empire.”

“So they’re going to accept our offer?” Luke asked.

“Not quite, I’m afraid. Apparently, the matter still requires some discussion. Though I’m sure it will be resolved soon.”

“Hopefully not by roasting us over a pit…” Han muttered, returning the Ewoks’ suspicious looks with one of his own.

Another Ewok appeared from amidst the crowd, stepping into the space in front of them. The others stepped back to give him more room, and he eyed the newcomers for a moment, his face impassive and unreadable. His headdress was not as elaborate as the medicine man’s, but he still held an official air about him.

“I believe this is the chief,” 3PO said. “He is the one who will decide your fate.”

“You’d think that the word of a god would be enough for these guys,” Han muttered.

“General Solo, you know I am not actually—”

“Yes, Threepio, I’m aware that you’re not really a god, thanks.”

The chief looked to the gathered Ewoks and lifted his staff, proclaiming something for all of them to hear. A hush descended on the crowd, and all eyes turned to the chief.

“He says that he has heard your offer,” 3PO translated, “and has come to a decision.”

Chewie whimpered anxiously, and Luke steeled himself for the worst. Things could be about to go very, very wrong.

But then there was a flurry of movement behind the chief, and Luke looked to see Leia ducking out of one of the huts. She was wearing a short, flowy dress made of animal skins, with a leather headband in her hair. A cloth sash was tied around her waist, off which her lightsaber was hanging. She looked around at the scene in front of her, quickly catching sight of Han, Luke, and the others.

“Han!” she called, pushing through the crowd of Ewoks towards them. “Luke!”

“Leia!” Han and Luke both cried her name at the same time.

“What’s going on?” she asked, casting bewildered looks between the four of them and C-3PO, seated on his wooden throne.

“We got into a bit of trouble with the locals,” Han said, with a grin that made the entire situation seem like a slight inconvenience.

“Threepio, wh… Tell them that they’re my friends!” Leia cried.

“I’m afraid that I already have, Mistress Leia, to little success,” 3PO said.

The chief banged his staff on the floor, calling for order. He yelled something, and all the Ewoks settled down. One took Leia by the hand and pulled her away, off to the side of the platform.

“The chief wishes to announce his decision,” 3PO said.

Once everyone had calmed, the chief looked once again to Luke, Han, Chewie and R2. He began speaking, and as he spoke he bowed his head towards them. Luke took that as a good sign — he was being polite, and no warriors immediately rushed forward to tie them up and take them prisoner. But he still looked to C-3PO for confirmation.

“He says that they will accept your offer!” 3PO said, the joy in his voice unmistakable. “In return for your help in taking down the invaders, they will offer you what resources they can in the form of warriors, weapons, and supplies.”

Luke breathed a deep sigh of relief, a wide smile spreading across his face, and Han let out a short cry of success, clapping his hand on Luke’s shoulder. Chewie growled and pat R2, who swiveled his domed head and beeped cheerily. Leia began pushing her way through the crowd towards them, practically jumping into Han’s arms. He spun her around, pressing a kiss to her cheek while she laughed.

“How the hell did you end up here?” Han asked, setting her back down on solid ground.

“I made a new friend,” Leia explained, motioning to the little Ewok who had taken her hand earlier. “He brought me here.”

“I’m glad you’re safe,” Luke said, his hand on her shoulder, and she smiled warmly at him.

All around them, the Ewoks erupted into cheers. The drums started up again, while horns blared and voices raised up in song. Luke didn’t know if they were celebrating 3PO’s arrival or their newfound alliance, but he supposed it didn’t matter. They had a large task ahead of them — plans would need to be made, strategies decided. But for now, they simply revelled in the fact that they were together.

◊◊◊

The world outside was dark, but the interior of the hut was warm and filled with the soft light of a fire burning in the centre of the room. The small one-room building was fit to bursting, with every available space occupied; those Ewoks who couldn’t squeeze inside peered in through windows and doors. Leia sat on a small rough-hewn bench, Han beside her and Luke leaning against a nearby wall. 3PO stood in front of the fire, R2 at his side, telling a story in the Ewoks’ language. Leia couldn’t understand what he was saying, but she could follow the story well enough based on the few words that were familiar to her, as well as the sound effects that 3PO added in.

He seemed to be reciting the many adventures that they all had gone on, from the Death Star and Yavin to Jabba’s Palace. The Ewoks listened, enraptured by his words, their glassy eyes wide. Leia leaned against Han’s shoulder, a small, pleasant smile on her face. For the first time in a while, she felt peaceful. Her mind didn’t stray to the coming battle, and she instead allowed herself to enjoy these final moments of calm before the storm broke.

But the calm did not last long. 3PO had just begun talking about Cloud City when a chill rushed down Leia’s spine, spreading through her arms and legs to the very tips of her fingers and toes. She went still, as if paralyzed, and the room before her seemed to fade into a blur as an overwhelming darkness settled on her mind.

It was Vader, reaching out to her.

She pushed him back, closing her mind off to him, but his presence remained. He was nearby; she could sense him, as he could sense her. He was on Endor, and he had come for her.

Ben’s words from Dagobah came rushing back. She was going to have to face Vader, and despite what Luke had said, she was going to have to do it alone. He was here for her, and he would stop at nothing until she was in his grasp once more.  

She took in a quiet, shaky breath, trying to keep her face from betraying the roiling emotions she felt inside. If she did not go to Vader, it was likely that he would come for her, and he would not let anyone stand in his way. By ignoring him, she would bring his wrath down upon not just her friends, but on the Ewoks as well.

A large part of her _wanted_ to go to him. Despite everything she knew about him, despite what she was going to have to do when she confronted him, she still didn’t want to stay away. It was as if, somewhere, somehow, she hoped that if she did go to him, she would find not Darth Vader, but the man he used to be.

But that was impossible. Anakin Skywalker was long dead, and so was any hope of his return.

3PO finished his story, and the Ewoks immediately broke into quiet chattering. Leia tried to push thoughts of her father from her mind, at least for the moment, but she couldn’t. He was on Endor, waiting for her, and the longer she delayed the greater the risk she put her friends in — the greater the risk to Luke and Han.

“What’s going on?” Han muttered. It took Leia a moment to realize he was speaking about the Ewoks, still mumbling together quietly, and she shook her head, unsure.

After another moment, the Ewoks seemed to come to an agreement and broke apart, nodding their small, fuzzy heads. The chief stepped to the front of the room and, looking to those members of his tribe gathered there, announced something to them all. Drummers scattered throughout the room began to beat on their instruments, and a great cheer rose through all the crowd.

“Wonderful!” 3PO said. “We are now a part of the tribe.”

The little Ewok who had helped Leia in the forest (apparently named Wicket, according to 3PO) jumped up into Han’s lap, throwing his small arms around Han’s neck in congratulations. “It’s just what I always wanted,” Han said, smiling somewhat awkwardly at all the Ewoks crowding around him.

With Wicket still clinging to Han’s shoulders, distracting him, Leia stood, unnoticed. The others were occupied by their own congratulatory Ewoks, and so she was able to easily slip past them and out through the door of the hut. Most of the Ewoks gathering near the entrance had already dispersed, and those that hadn’t paid her little attention.

Torches burned at regular intervals along the walkways connecting the various platforms. She paused in the middle of one, her metal hand gripping the railing. She stared at it, the synthetic skin hiding any indication that this was not the arm she had been born with. It was because of Vader that she had a cybernetic arm. He had wounded her, knowing full-well that she was his daughter. That act alone should have been enough to convince anyone of the pure evil that blanketed his heart.

The sounds of the celebration could still be heard pouring out from the hut, but the rest of the village was silent. Most of the windows were dark, and despite the jubilant drums she could feel the hush of nighttime settling over her. Now would be the best time to leave, while everyone was happy and distracted. She had her lightsaber, and that was all she needed to face Vader. Goodbyes were always far too difficult, and she just knew that both Han and Luke would either try to convince her to stay or insist on going with her. And neither was an option.

But she found herself unable to just walk away. She couldn’t leave them like that, wondering where she had gone and if she was safe. Luke was her brother — he was her family, and they had both already lost so much family. And Han…

The sound of footsteps behind her interrupted her thoughts, and she turned to see Luke walking across the platform towards her. The dim light made it difficult to see his face, but she could still feel his emotions, rippling through the Force — his fear, but also his determination. He could not interpret the Force as well as she could, but he still knew what her intentions were. He knew what she was leaving to do.

“You’re going to go face him,” he said, stopping a few feet away from her.

Leia bowed her head, ashamed that she had even considered leaving without telling him. Vader was his father as well, though she was sure he wished otherwise just as much as she did. “Yes,” she said. “He’s here, on Endor. I can sense him. He’s come for me.” She looked at Luke. “Please don’t try to stop me. This is something I have to do, and I have to do it alone.”

“No, Leia, you don’t.” Luke stepped closer, taking her flesh hand in his. “Let me come with you. I can’t bear the thought of sending you off to face him and never seeing you again. I can help. We can do this together.”

Leia shook her head. “No. It’s just not possible. You have no training in the ways of the Force, and Vader is more powerful than both of us combined. He would destroy you in an instant. And you know what Ben said. Vader can’t learn who you truly are.”

“I don’t care if he learns who I am,” Luke said. “I care about losing you.”

Leia understood how he felt. They had both already lost all the family they had ever known, and the idea of being separated again so soon after truly finding each other was gut-wrenching. Part of her wanted desperately for him to come with her, so that she would not have to face their father alone. But a larger part wanted him safe — the same part that had wanted to protect him from the moment she had found him in the crashed escape pod on Tatooine. And keeping Luke safe meant keeping him away from Vader, and keeping Vader away from him.

“I’m doing this to protect you,” Leia explained. “You, Han, and everyone else. If I don’t go to Vader, he’ll come after me, and that will put all of you in his path.” She looked away from Luke, off the side of the bridge, down through the net of dark branches. “And I’m the only one who can stop him. It’s up to me to put an end to him.”

“So you truly believe that you have to kill him?” Luke asked. “That there’s not even the smallest amount of good left in him?”

Leia was silent for a moment. She hoped that there might be some good left in their father, but hoping was different from believing. “I don’t know what I believe,” she admitted. “I don’t know if Anakin Skywalker still exists.” She looked back to him. “Do you believe he is beyond saving?”

“I would like to think that no one is beyond saving,” Luke said. “Not even Vader. He was good once — perhaps he can be good again.”

Leia watched him, surprised. Of all people, she would have thought Luke would hate Vader most of all. He knew his cruelties first-hand, cruelties made all the more painful because he was their father. Yet he still believed that there might be some good left in Vader, that it had not all been chased out by the darkness.  

“Do you remember our mother?” Luke asked.

The question caught her off guard. In the short amount of time since she and Luke had learned they were twins, they had never discussed their mother. Leia had never known much about her, and Luke probably knew even less. She was dead, as far as either of them knew, and Leia suspected that, unlike with their father, this was the truth.

“Just a little bit,” she said. “We were so young when she died. It’s all just… images, really. Feelings.”

“Like what?”

Leia thought, pulling up the memories. She had spent so long as a child going over them, playing them again and again in her mind. The face she pictured was blurry, obscured by time, but she could still tell that it had been beautiful. The image of curly brown hair surrounded the face, like an echo; the memory was unsure, buried far back in Leia’s mind. She remembered kindness and caring, but also deep sadness. She could just faintly hear the sound of a woman crying, but she didn’t know if it was a memory or a fabrication of her mind.

“She was very beautiful,” she said. “Kind… but sad. Very sad.”

“Do you think she loved him?”

Leia didn’t know the answer to that. When she was young her aunt and uncle had told her about the one time they had met her mother. They had given as few details as possible, but she knew that her mother had been visiting Tatooine with her father, back when he was still Anakin Skywalker.

“I think she did, once,” Leia said. “Why are you asking me this?”

“He was loved once,” Luke explained. “And it’s likely that he loved back. Love doesn’t just go away, even in someone like Vader.” He paused, searching Leia’s face, trying to see if she understood what he was saying. She thought that she did. Vader had been capable of love once, and it was possible that it was something he still felt. Love could bring him back.

Luke continued, “I don’t know if you can save Vader. But if there’s even the smallest chance, I think you should try.”

Leia nodded. She wanted desperately to feel as Luke did, to believe in the possibility that some good remained in their father, but the more realistic part of her insisted that it wasn’t possible. The man who had truly been her father was long dead.

But the hope remained.

“I know I won’t be able to stop you from confronting him,” Luke said, “and I won’t be able to convince you to let me come. I don’t know Vader like you do, and I can’t force you to believe as I do. But at least think about what I’ve said.” He put his hands on her shoulders and then pulled her towards him, embracing her. “And please be safe.”

Leia didn’t say anything, because there was nothing she could say — she couldn’t promise that she would save their father, or that she would kill him, or even that she would come back. Her future was uncertain, and the only thing promises would do would be to instill false hope.

She was the first to pull away, gently taking Luke’s hands from her shoulders. They looked at each for a moment, both of them silent, and that look communicated more than any words they had spoken that night. They would not say goodbye, and Leia knew that she would not be going alone — Luke would be with her, even if it wasn’t physically.

She turned, letting her hands slip from Luke’s as she walked away into the darkened night. She didn’t have any directions, but she could feel Vader’s presence, disturbingly close, drawing her in. He would make sure she found her way.

“Leia!”

Han’s voice stopped her, and she turned to see him running towards her. Luke had begun to make his way back to the hut, to rejoin the festivities, though he glanced back towards them once. Leia’s heart stuttered; she had hoped Han would not notice her absence until she was long gone. She didn’t know how to even begin explaining to him why she was leaving…

“Where are you going?” Han asked, his eyebrows drawn tight together. The look on his face was nearly enough to convince Leia not to go, to leave Vader alone and stay with him.

But she couldn’t. She couldn’t put him, Luke, or anyone else in danger like that.

“I have to leave,” she explained. “If I stay here, I’m putting you all at risk.”

“What are you talking about? What’s going on?”

She shook her head, looking away from his distressed face. “I can’t tell you,” she said. “I’m sorry.” No one besides Luke knew who Vader really was, and Leia couldn’t bear the thought of Han reacting poorly to the news. She cared deeply for him, more deeply than she had ever let herself realize, and Vader was a monster. If Han knew the truth, he would only see her as a monster, too.

“Leia, just tell me. Please.” He looked so upset, and Leia could practically feel her heart breaking.

“I’m going after Vader,” she explained. “I’m the only one who can stop him.”

“What? Why?”

Leia closed her eyes, and took in a quiet breath. “I’m afraid you’ll hate me if I tell you,” she whispered.

Han stepped close, cupping her face in his hands. His calloused fingers were rough against her skin, but she wished that he would never let go. “I could never hate you,” he said.

She opened her eyes, meeting his gaze in the dark. She still didn’t want to tell him, but she couldn’t lie to him — she couldn’t allow him to keep caring for her, knowing that he was unaware of the darkness of her lineage.

“He’s my father.”  

Han’s eyes widened in surprise and confusion, and his hands slipped from her face. Leia’s heart sank as they dropped back to his sides. She knew this was how he would react; how could he possibly react any differently? She was the daughter of the galaxy’s evilest man, second only to the Emperor himself. It would be impossible for anyone to consider her as anything but a monster herself.

“How long have you known?” Han asked, his voice pained.

“Since Bespin.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

Leia realized with some shock that this was the part that upset him most — not the truth itself, but the fact that she had kept it from him.

“I was too scared,” she admitted. “I didn’t know how you would react.”

Han moved his hands to her shoulders, the weight instantly comforting. “I told you,” he said, pressing a gentle kiss to her forehead. “I could never hate you. But do you really have to go?”

“Yes. Vader has come for me. I can sense him, and he can sense me. He knows where I am, and if I don’t go to him, he’ll come after me. I can’t risk the mission or any of you like that.” She stroked her thumb along his cheek, tenderly and full of regret. “I’m sorry.” She stretched up to kiss him. It was soft and quick, but full of all the love and care that she felt. “Take care of yourself.”

She stepped back, and Han let his hands fall from her shoulders. One hand on the railing, Leia began to walk backwards, unable to tear her eyes away from Han. But as she was about to turn around, she paused, looking back to him one more time. She didn’t know when she was going to see him again; she didn’t know if she ever would. They were both heading off on their own missions, dangerous in their own ways. Either one of them could be dead come tomorrow night.

The words tumbled out of her lips before she could think them through much more, and though they were unsteady in her mouth, she was sure that they were true.

“I love you.”

A hint of Han’s roguish smirk tugged on the corner of his mouth.

“I know.”


	7. Chapter 7

The stormtroopers’ hands were like iron on her arms, but Leia refused to wince. Her wrists were bound together in front of her, the metal of the binders uncomfortable against the skin of her flesh hand. The troopers led her through darkened corridors, their feet pounding against the floor. One of them had her lightsaber gripped in their hand.

It hadn’t taken her long to find the Imperials. There was a landing platform not far from the Ewoks’ village, easily noticeable from its bright floodlights. Leia assumed that this was the main Imperial entry point on the planet, meaning that the shield generator couldn’t have been far.

But she wasn’t here for the shield generator.

She had lingered for a while near the perimeter, until a patrolling AT-AT had passed by. Then she had approached the entrance to the complex below the landing pad, hands raised in surrender. The stormtroopers guarding the door had immediately apprehended her, taking her lightsaber and calling for backup. Two more troopers had arrived, and these were the ones that pulled her along now, taking her to some unknown destination. Though there were no signs of him, Leia could sense Vader — he was close, and growing closer with every step.

This late at night, the halls of the complex were quiet, but several people were still up and hard at work. Those they passed were mostly stormtroopers patrolling the corridors, but a few uniformed officers hurried past, too busy to pay the prisoner and her guards much attention.

One officer, however, seemed to be there specifically for her. He strolled purposefully towards them, his hands clasped together behind his back. Three armed stormtroopers followed, just a few steps behind him. The rank plaque on his left breast told Leia that he was a commander, and the way the nearby stormtroopers stopped and saluted him as he passed meant he was likely the man in charge of the landing pad’s operations.

Her guards stopped as the commander approached, saluting him with their free hands.

“Commander,” one of them greeted. “This is the Rebel that was apprehended near the south entrance. She surrendered to us freely and turned over her weapon.” He stretched her lightsaber out to him, and the commander took it, inspecting it carefully.

“Were there any more of them?” he asked.

“No, sir. She came alone.”

The commander turned his attention to Leia, his gaze piercing. “But you are not the only Rebel on this moon, are you?” he asked, stepping close so that his face was only inches from hers. She clenched her jaw, keeping her expression unreadable. “Where are the rest of your little friends? Hiding out in the forest, preparing to strike against us?”

“There is no one else,” she said.

The commander straightened, scoffing derisively. “We shall see about that.” He looked to the stormtroopers still gripping her upper arms. “Lord Vader has just arrived. He has requested that any captured Rebels be brought to him. We shall take it from here.”

Leia’s heart jumped at the mention of her father, but she kept her expression schooled.  

The two troopers nodded. “Yes, sir.” They finally released their hands, and promptly turned and began to walk away. The three troopers who had been accompanying the commander moved to take their places behind her, though they did not feel the need to pull her along as the others had — their weapons would keep her in line.

The commander turned and began to lead them away, Leia’s lightsaber still gripped in his hand. One of the stormtroopers pushed Leia forward with a nudge of their blaster, and she fell into step behind the commander. Though she could not see their faces, Leia could feel the stormtroopers’ fear, pulsing darkly around them. Even the commander, his face impassive, was nervous. Leia stretched out the stiff mechanical joints of her right hand. They were terrified of Vader, and she knew that it was with good reason.

They carried on down the corridor. Fewer and fewer people crossed their path, until they were the only ones in sight. There were no windows, and so Leia had no idea what part of the complex they were in. But the further they went, the more the commander’s fear grew, and the more strongly Leia could sense Vader. His presence was like a cold fog that hung over the entire building, and the closer she drew to him, the more that fog thickened, snaking its way through her mind. He knew she was coming.  

The complex wasn’t very large, and so it wasn’t long before they were stopping in front of a door. The commander pressed a button on the controls, and the door zipped upwards, revealing another long hallway on the other side. Unlike the others, this one was lined with windows, offering a view into the dark forest that surrounded them.

Vader stood almost directly in front of the door. His suit, damaged by Leia during their duel on Bespin, had since been fully repaired. Though she could not see his eyes through the darkened lenses of his mask, Leia could feel his gaze on her as she stepped through the door, flanked by the three stormtroopers.

“This is a Rebel that surrendered to us,” the commander said, standing straight with his hands behind his back as he spoke to Vader. Leia had to commend him for hiding his fear so well, though there was no doubt in her mind that Vader could sense it just as easily as she could. The commander continued, “Although she denies it, I believe there may be more of them, and I request permission to conduct a full search of the area.” He stretched out his hand, extending Leia’s lightsaber to Vader. “She was armed only with this.”

Vader took the lightsaber, carefully turning it over in his gloved hands. “Good work, Commander,” he said. “Leave us. Conduct your search and bring her companions to me.”

The commander bowed his head. “Yes, my Lord.” With that, he turned and disappeared back through the doorway, the troopers following him. The door slid shut behind them, leaving Leia alone with her father.

Strangely, she felt no fear at being alone with Vader. She knew that the Emperor wanted her, and so Vader would not kill her — not here. He regarded her now in silence, and she reached out to him, searching through his emotions. It was difficult; he had strong blocks in place, designed to keep people out. But she could still feel his anger, simmering and ever-present, as well as his pain, deep and bruising. He was filled with more pain than she had ever felt in anyone before, a sadness that cut to the bone.

He turned away from her sharply, no doubt aware of what she was doing. Leia did not look away, though she pulled back. She could not imagine living with such pain and not going mad from it.

Vader began to walk away, down the hallway, and Leia followed, her hands still bound in front of her.

“The Emperor has been expecting you,” Vader said, his gaze remaining focused ahead.

“I know, Father.”

He glanced over at her. “I knew you would not be able to ignore the truth.”

“The truth is that you were once Anakin Skywalker, my father,” she said.

Vader stopped, turning to fully face her. “That name no longer has any meaning for me.”

“Because it is a reminder of who you once were. Anakin Skywalker was a good man.”

“Anakin Skywalker is dead.”

Leia looked at him, trying again to sense his emotions. “You truly believe yourself to be beyond saving?” she asked. Luke’s words echoed in her mind — Vader had felt love once, and it was possible he still felt it. But she could sense no hint of that love anymore. Whether that was because it no longer existed or because he had buried it so deeply down, Leia did not know.

“Do you believe that I am?” Vader asked.

Only a short while ago, her answer would have been a resounding “yes”. She knew deeply and personally the things that Vader had done, not just to her but to her friends, and to the galaxy as a whole. But Luke had shaken her conviction.

“I don’t know what I believe anymore,” she admitted.

“Obi-Wan once thought I could be saved,” Vader said, “and I destroyed him.”

“Would you destroy me?” Leia asked. “You are going to bring me to your Emperor and he will try to turn me, but I won’t. And you’ll be forced to kill me.”

“If that is your destiny.”

“You would kill your own daughter?”

“You don’t know the power of the dark side,” Vader said, stepping close. He towered over her, a creature in black, but she wasn’t afraid. “I must obey my master.”

“You might think you do, but you don’t.” She wanted desperately for him to admit that, in some way, he cared for her; to give her some proof that Anakin Skywalker still lived within him. But the more they spoke, the more she became convinced that wasn’t the case.

“You are powerful, as the Emperor has foreseen,” Vader said. “He will show you the true nature of the Force. He is your master now.”

Leia was silent. It seemed as if Ben had been right — Vader was more machine than man. His heart had grown cold and twisted, and there was no turning it back to the light.

Which meant she would have to kill him.

She looked to him, her gaze steely, ready to face both him and his Emperor. “He will try.”

◊◊◊

Luke crept through the forest, following behind Han as they made their way around the perimeter of the Empire’s Endor headquarters. The dozen or so members of the strike team slunk along after them, careful to stay close together. Wicket and another Ewok scout named Paploo wandered up ahead, guiding them through the thick trees. They had led them initially to a busy and heavily-guarded landing pad, beyond which lay the main entrance to the control bunker. If they wanted to achieve their goal and shut down the Death Star’s shield generator, they were going to have to get into that bunker.

Deciding it was too risky to try and get in through the main entrance, the Ewoks had informed them that there was another way in. That was where they led them now, skirting around the heavily-patrolled border in broad daylight. It made Luke nervous, but they had a schedule to keep to — the fleet was planning to arrive above Endor in less than an hour, and the shield needed to be down by the time they got there.

Up ahead, the Ewoks dropped down to a crouch, motioning for the others to stop. Luke and Han did as they were told, and the rest of the strike team quickly followed suit. Paploo scurried forward, hiding himself in the tall brush. After a moment of observation, he turned back to look at them, giving a sharp, bird-like whistle and motioning them forward.

They ducked low as they got close to him, peering through the ferns into the clearing beyond, where four scout troopers could be seen guarding a heavy metal door built into the side of a small hill.

“Back door, huh?” Han said, nodding in admiration. “Good idea.”

Wicket walked over to his companion and the two began discussing something quietly. Han, wanting a better look, shuffled forward through the brush. Luke followed, crouching low behind a thick trunk, Chewie, R2, and 3PO at his back.

“It’s only a few guards,” Han said, glancing back to them. “This shouldn’t be too much trouble.”

Luke gave him a skeptical look, eyebrows raised. They all should have learned by now that things like this were rarely as simple as they seemed.

“Don’t worry about it,” Han said, obviously able to sense Luke’s doubt. “We’ll do it real quiet-like. They won’t even know what hit ‘em.”

Luke still wasn’t convinced.

Behind him, 3PO let out a surprised cry. “Oh! Oh, my! Prince Luke!”

Luke straightened quickly, placing his hand over the protocol droid’s mouth. “Quiet, or they’ll hear us!”

3PO continued, his vocalizations unhindered by Luke’s hand, “I’m afraid our furry companion has gone and done something rather rash.”

Chewie let out an unhappy growl, and Luke looked back to the clearing to see Paploo scampering towards the scout troopers’ speeder bikes, parked not far from the bunker entrance.

“Well, there goes our surprise attack,” Han muttered.

They all watched, helpless, as the Ewok clambered up onto one of the bikes and began the process of starting up the engines.

“Look!” one of the troopers cried, catching sight of the furry little creature perched atop the bike. “Over there!”

The troopers ran for their bikes, but by the time three of them had swung themselves up onto the remaining speeders, Paploo was already gone, zipping away into the trees. The scout troopers were quick to pursue him, leaving behind only one of their companions to guard the door.

Han gave Luke a wide, cheeky grin, as if to say “I told you so.”

“Not bad for a little furball,” he said. “There’s only one left.” He stood, giving C-3PO a pointed look. “You stay here. We’ll take care of this.”

3PO didn’t seem to mind this one bit, shuffling off to join R2 and Wicket.

Han looked to the rest of the Pathfinders, motioning for them to follow him. He led them over to the side of the bunker, careful to keep them out of the remaining trooper’s sight. They were to wait there until he gave his signal. Luke and Chewie stayed hunkered back with them as Han crept over to the other side of the bunker.

The scout stood in front of the door, gaze focused on the forest ahead of him. Luke watched as Han slunk up behind him and tapped him on the shoulder. As the trooper turned to look at him, Han raced over to where he had left the rest of his team, motioning for them to come out. The Pathfinders were quick to react, leaping out of the trees with their blasters drawn to intercept the trooper before he could even take more than a few steps.

Outgunned and outnumbered, the scout didn’t even bother to put up any resistance, and the Rebels quickly moved to detain him.

Han gave Luke another smug look.

“We still have to actually deactivate the shield,” Luke reminded him, shouldering past him to get to the bunker door.

“Hey, that’ll be the easy part.”

Luke really wished Han would stop saying stuff like that.

The trooper properly detained, most of the strike team moved to either side of the door, blasters poised to take care of anyone who might be waiting on the other side. The door did not require a code to open, and after a few moments of fiddling with the control panel, Luke was able to open it. The hallway beyond was dimly lit, but empty.

Han was the first to step inside, quickly motioning for the others to follow him. Three of the Pathfinders remained outside to guard the door and their prisoner. There were no signs of any other Imperials immediately inside, and Luke doubted that it would be heavily guarded. The Empire believed that their biggest threat on Endor were the moon’s primitive Ewoks. They had no reason to suspect anyone else even knew of the Death Star II’s existence.

Still, they moved forward cautiously. It would not be difficult for the Empire to surprise them, and it would be unwise for them to let their guards down.

◊◊◊

Vader brought Leia to his shuttle and transported her off Endor up to the Death Star II, orbiting, still incomplete, around the forest moon. It was a monstrous thing, a jagged, unfinished sphere nearly twice the size of its predecessor. Leia watched from the shuttle viewport, bound hands resting in her lap, as they slowly approached the battle station. Soon, Han and Luke would have deactivated the shield protecting the superstructure from attack, and the Rebel fleet would have arrived to destroy it. Leia doubted she would be able to get off in time to escape, but so long as she kept both Vader and the Emperor from escaping as well, that was all that mattered.

One life, to save countless others. One life, to purge the galaxy of the evil that had haunted it for over two decades.

Vader brought them to a hanger high in the Death Star’s northern hemisphere, abandoned save for one other shuttle and a handful of stormtroopers. He said nothing as he pulled her to her feet and led her down the shuttle’s ramp. The hangar was eerily silent. The stormtroopers patrolling the area said nothing, and Leia could hear neither the station’s engines nor the frenzied construction work taking place nearby. The only sounds were those of their feet echoing off the metal floor and Vader’s suit, breathing to keep him alive.

He took her to a hallway off to the side of the hangar. It was wide, the walls inlaid with softly-glowing lights, but there were no doors lining it, save for a large turbolift at the very end. Two guards stood on either side of the lift’s door, but they were not stormtroopers, or even death troopers. Instead of the usual plastoid armour of the Empire’s soldiers, these guards wore long, crimson red robes and hooded masks that covered even their eyes. They carried no blasters that Leia could see, and were instead armed with tall force pikes. They were, she realized, members of the Emperor’s personal guard.

They didn’t even shift as Vader and Leia approached, not bowing, saluting, or even asking what their purpose was. They simply stood there, impassive as statues, as Vader called the turbolift and shepherded Leia onboard. There was no option but up, and it was up they went, climbing higher and higher until they seemed to reach the very top of the Death Star. Finally, the lift slowed to a stop and the door hissed open.

The room beyond was dark and vast. There were no direct overhead lights, and the only source illuminating the room was a strange blue glow. The turbolift stood on a circular platform suspended over a deep chasm, with bridges leading off in every direction. The one directly in front of the lift’s door led to a tall metal dais, atop which sat a curved throne. Large circular windows took up most of the wall space on either side of the dais, and a third, slightly smaller window was placed directly in front of the throne, which was currently turned towards it.

Vader, standing behind Leia, nudged her forward, off the turbolift and towards the dais. Her eyes darted about the room as she moved slowly towards the throne where she knew the Emperor was seated, waiting for her. Two more royal guards stood positioned near the lift door, but once again, they didn’t even acknowledge the two new arrivals.

Leia climbed the stairs to the dais, Vader only one step behind her. For the first time, she began to feel an inkling of fear. The entire throne room felt cold, filled with a dark presence that sucked all warmth from the air. Malignant feelings of wrath and hatred swirled through Leia’s mind, emanating from the dark, soulless spot in the Force that was concentrated on the throne in front of her.

All she knew of Emperor Palpatine came from stories whispered around base by the pilots and other soldiers. Growing up on Tatooine, far from the Empire’s reach, she had only ever heard about him in passing — a villain akin to those in the stories her aunt would tell her, not a real threat like Jabba the Hutt. She had learned only a bit more about him as she grew older, and even after joining the Rebellion her knowledge of him remained vague, most of it consisting of rumours and conjecture. She had never even seen a holo of the man.

But now here she was, slowly ascending the steps to his throne. She pushed away the fear, trying to block out the pulsing darkness that seemed to flood the Force around her. Compared to the Emperor, Vader’s presence was a mere chill in the air. Palpatine was like a black hole, pulling in all light and warmth and spewing out nothing but the purest dark. He was evil personified, a being of nothing but anger and greed and hatred.

Leia stopped at the top of the stairs, Vader beside her. Slowly, the throne turned to face them, and Leia had to supress another surge of fear as her eyes fell on the figure seated atop it. The Emperor was dressed in a dark robe, the hood pulled up high over his head. Only his hands and face were visible, and the skin of both was so pale it was nearly grey. Gnarled fingers curled over the arms of the throne, but it was the face that gave Leia pause. Though it was partially obscured by the shadow of the hood, Leia could see deep ridges of wrinkles across his cheeks and forehead, far too pronounced to be natural.

A small, pleased smile stretched across the Emperor’s thin lips as he took in the sight of her standing before him. “Welcome, young Skywalker,” he greeted, and though his voice was that of a frail old man, there was an undeniable power behind it. “I have been expecting you. You no longer need those.” He waved his hand lazily in front of him, and the binders on Leia’s wrists came undone and fell to the ground.

Leia watched them fall, and then looked back up at the Emperor, her face showing none of what she felt inside.

Palpatine looked past her, to the two men still standing sentry near the turbolift. “Guards, leave us.” Leia did not turn to watch them go, her gaze remaining focused on the cloaked man sitting before her. He stared back, and his eyes almost seemed to glow with a sickly yellow light.

“I’m looking forward to completing your training,” he said. “In time, you will call me Master.”

“I’m afraid you are mistaken,” Leia said. “I won’t turn as easily as my father.”

“Oh, no, my young Jedi.” The Emperor stood, raising himself from his chair, and slowly crossed the floor towards her. “You will see it is you who are mistaken… about a great many things.”

Vader stretched out Leia’s lightsaber towards the Emperor as he approached. “Her lightsaber,” he said.

“Ah, yes.” The Emperor took it in his hand. “A Jedi’s weapon. Much like your father’s. By now you must know your father can never be turned from the dark side. So will it be with you.”

“Yes, I know he can never be turned,” Leia said. “But neither can I, and soon enough, it won’t matter. We’ll all be dead — me, my father, even you.”

The Emperor let out a sharp laugh. “Are you referring to the imminent attack of your Rebel fleet?” he asked, and Leia’s eyes widened slightly, her jaw clenching. There was no way he could know of the attack — everything had been planned so quickly. The Empire couldn’t possibly have learned of it already. “Yes...” Palpatine continued. “I assure you we are quite safe from your _friends_ here.”

Leia took in a deep breath, her lips pressed tight together. “That may be the case,” she said, “but you are not safe from me.”

The Emperor laughed again. “Such confidence! Do you intend to strike me down?” He lifted the hand still holding her lightsaber, as if to remind her that she was weaponless. Still chuckling, he moved back to sit on his throne.

“It is pointless to resist, my daughter,” Vader said.

“Everything that has transpired has done so according to _my_ design,” the Emperor continued. “Your friends up there on the Sanctuary Moon are walking into a trap. As is your Rebel fleet. It was I who allowed the Alliance to know the location of the shield generator. It is quite safe from your pitiful little band. An entire legion of my best troops awaits them.”

Leia grit her teeth, fists clenching and unclenching at her sides. They had been so close… so close to ending it all, to bringing the Empire down, after years and years of struggle… only to discover that the Empire had been one step ahead of them the entire time.

An almost gleeful smile spread across the Emperor’s wrinkled face. “Oh, I’m afraid the deflector shield will be quite operational when your friends arrive.”

But she could end it all here. She had Vader and Palpatine together in the same room, the two most powerful men in the galaxy. If she killed them here, now, the Empire would be rudderless. It would create chaos that could work to bring the Galactic Empire to its knees.

She sucked in a sharp breath through her nose and stretched out her hand, reaching for the lightsaber now resting on the arm of Palpatine’s throne. She could ignite it and slice the blade through Vader before he could even react, she could—

She was thrown backwards, landing hard on the floor at the bottom of the stairs. Wheezing, she gasped for breath, one hand going to her aching chest as the other lifted herself up into a sitting position. Vader remained at the top of the dais, utterly still as he looked down on her. She could not see the Emperor from this angle, but she could hear his amused cackling, echoing through the vast room.

“I’m afraid you will have to do better than that, girl,” he said.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> there are probably only two or three more chapters left of this fic before it's all over, and I just wanted to thank you all in advance for sticking with me for so long :)


	8. Chapter 8

Luke’s hands danced over the keys and buttons adorning the dash in the bunker’s control room. Lights flashed around him, and the screens lining the wall switched between different readouts. One of them showed a diagram of the Death Star, currently in orbit around Endor, and all the Imperial ships flocking around it. He watched the screen closely, looking for any changes in the amount of ships floating in the space above the forest moon.

“We’ve got to hurry,” he said, glancing to Han who, along with Chewie and several of the Pathfinders, was busy corralling the Imperial officers and techs who had been occupying the control room. “The fleet could be here any minute.”

Han left Chewie to guard the officers, stretching his hands out to one of the Pathfinders. “Charges! Come on, come on!” The soldier tossed him a duffel, which Luke knew was full of small, magnetic charges that, once placed strategically, would blow up the bunker and all the generators inside it. Han tore open the bag, grabbing an ammo box full of charges. The soldiers not busy rounding up Imperials reached for their own boxes, as well, and Luke pulled out the detonator, ready to arm all the charges once they were placed. They needed to work fast if they wanted the shield down by the time the fleet got there.

Han hurried off, heading towards the observation deck that shot off from the control room. It looked out into the tall, vaulted room that held the shield generators. They sparked and hissed with energy, their gentle hum rumbling through the floor, creating a shield large and powerful enough to reach into space and wrap around a station the size of a small moon. Han didn’t get far, though, before an armed officer was rushing onto the deck from another entrance.

“Freeze!” he cried.

Han faltered for only a moment before hurling the ammo box at the officer. It struck him directly in the chest and sent him flying over the railing of the deck, down several storeys to the bottom of the generator room.

A dozen stormtroopers immediately rushed into the control room, seemingly from nowhere, blasters drawn. In seconds the Rebels were surrounded. A rifle to his face, Luke let the detonator fall onto the dash and raised his hands. Chewie’s bowcaster was ripped from his hands by the very prisoners he had been keeping in check. A black-clad officer strode towards Han and Luke, pistol aimed at Han’s chest.

“You Rebel scum,” he spat.

“Scum?” Han gave the officer a disgusted look, obviously insulted at the very notion.

Luke closed his eyes, letting out a deep sigh.

They were led from the bunker, their weapons confiscated. Outside in the clearing, nearly a hundred stormtroopers and Imperial officers awaited them. Two AT-STs lingered in the trees, and the Pathfinders who had been left behind stood together in the centre of it all, their hands on their heads.

Luke surveyed the scene, his heart sinking. Even if the captured scout trooper had been able to escape and go for help, it wouldn’t have arrived so quickly, or in such great numbers. It was more likely that this force had been lying in wait for them. The Empire had known they were coming, somehow. They had been doomed from the start.

Luke looked to the sky, where the Death Star hung above them, hazy and dim in the bright afternoon sun. He could not see any of the Star Destroyers gathered around the battle station, and so it was unlikely he would see when the fleet arrived. As if it mattered anymore; if the Empire knew about the strike team, they doubtless knew about the fleet’s imminent arrival, and the shield was still active. There was nothing the fleet could do. They were flying into a trap, and there was no way to warn them. The entirety of the Rebel Alliance was about to walk right into the Empire’s waiting hands.

He felt hope draining from him as they were herded into the centre of the clearing with the rest of the strike team. Luke’s eyes strayed back to the metal monstrosity in orbit above them. Leia was most likely up there right now, in the clutches of Darth Vader and the Emperor. She was their only hope now.

But then a cry sounded out from amongst the trees.

“Hello! I say, over there! Were you looking for me?”

All eyes turned towards the voice, and there stood C-3PO, his golden body standing out in the green foliage like, well… like a droid in a forest. Luke could just barely see R2’s stubby form beside him, shuffling anxiously from foot to foot.

“Bring those two down here!” an officer ordered, pointing to the two droids. A group of troopers were quick to react, racing towards them, and 3PO hurriedly tottered away behind a nearby tree. Luke couldn’t really see or hear what was happening; the troopers paused near where 3PO had disappeared, and for a moment nothing happened. But then a swarm of Ewoks appeared, leaping onto the backs of the troopers and pounding them with their spears and hatchets.

A horn sounded from up in the trees, followed almost immediately by a response, and dozens of Ewok heads popped up in the brush surrounding the clearing. They were armed with bows, and had let out a flurry of arrows before the Imperials could even begin to process what was happening. Within seconds there were troopers and officers on the ground, struck through with arrows, while their comrades struggled to get hold of the situation.

Taking advantage of the confusion, Luke kicked out at the trooper nearest him, knocking him off his feet. The rest of the Rebels followed suit, and within seconds a fight had erupted. Luke grabbed the blaster from the fallen trooper’s hands and took aim, firing indiscriminately at any being in a white uniform. Soon laser bolts were sailing in every direction, mixed in with short wooden arrows. Cries of pain and confusion were joined by Ewokese battle shouts as even more warriors seemed to appear from the woodwork, charging out of the forest.

It did not take long for the Imperials to realize they were about to be overwhelmed. They began to flee, a small group disappearing into the bunker while the rest scattered into the trees, pursued by Ewoks and some of the Pathfinders. Luke ran for the bunker, hoping to stop the officers who had escaped that way, but they had closed the blast doors before he even got there, locking themselves inside.

He hunkered in the doorway as the clearing emptied. The AT-STs followed the ground troops into the forest, cannons blasting away. Those soldiers who had not vanished into the trees crouched in the brush. The remaining members of the strike team retreated to the bunker entrance with Luke. Han was kneeling beside him, firing into the trees at whatever Imperials he could see. Chewie was nowhere to be found, and there were no signs of 3PO or R2, either.

Though most of the Imperial forces had dispersed, the few that remained kept up a steady stream of blasterfire. Luke pressed close to the doorway of the bunker, near the control panel. He pushed every button he could find, but none of them opened the doors. They were locked up tight, and the Imperials had them pinned down.

◊◊◊

Leia’s chest ached as she made her way back up to the throne, where her father stood waiting for her. He said nothing as she stopped by his side, and simply turned back to face his master.

The Emperor did not look angry at her attempt to attack him; rather, he seemed almost pleased. “I can feel your anger,” he said, a sickening smile on his ghostly face, “your hate. It swells within you, growing with each passing moment. Do not resist it.”

Leia clenched her teeth, looking away from the Emperor. She couldn’t give in; Yoda’s voice echoed through her mind, reminding her that her hate and rage would lead her to the dark side. She would not give the Emperor or Vader the satisfaction.

Palpatine seemed to sense her resistance. “Come here, girl,” he ordered, beckoning her towards his throne. She did not move until Vader pushed her forward. Slowly, she approached the Emperor, trying desperately to keep the hate from bubbling up within her. Here she was, standing before the vilest man in the galaxy. She could end him — she could use her hate and anger and frustration and finish him off.

But it was not the Jedi way.

“Look here,” Palpatine said, motioning to the window behind his throne.

Leia stepped towards the window, peering through it into the darkness of space. Some distance away, she could see dozens of Star Destroyers. Other large ships hovered near them, unrecognizable at this distance, and the tiny dots of fighters flitted between them all. Lights flashed within the grouping of ships, and Leia realized that they were explosions. She was witnessing a battle, and the other ships were the Alliance fleet.

But no attacks rocked the space station she was currently on. The fighters did not race towards them, and no shots came from the larger ships. Which meant that, as Palpatine had predicted, the Death Star’s shield was still up. The strike team on Endor had failed.

Leia pushed away thoughts of what might have happened to them; she couldn’t think of Han and Luke and everyone else, not now. She had to focus on Vader and the Emperor. But it was difficult, with her comrades fighting and dying right there in front of her. The entirety of the Rebel fleet was out there, with most of the remaining Alliance on board. Lando, Wedge, Lieutenant Tocri, all the men and women she had commanded on Hoth. They were all about to be destroyed.

“From here you will witness the final destruction of the Alliance,” the Emperor said, “and the end of your insignificant Rebellion.”

She looked away from the window, towards the man who was responsible for it all. Her lightsaber still rested on the arm of his throne, well within her grasp.

“You want this,” the Emperor said, his hand falling to rest on the hilt of her weapon. “You try to resist, but you cannot stop the hate building within you. Take your Jedi weapon. Try again to strike me down. I am unarmed; I will not stop you. Give in to your rage. With each passing moment, you make yourself more my servant.”

Leia wanted to.

She wanted nothing more than to grab her lightsaber and ram its blade through Palpatine’s heart. She could do it so easily…

But what would happen to her afterwards? If she were to strike him down in hate, what would she become? She would no longer be the Jedi that Ben and Yoda had taught her to be.

Did that even matter?

“You cannot avoid your destiny,” the Emperor said, his yellow eyes piercing as they scrutinized her. “You, like your father, are now mine!”

She shook her head, glancing back out the window, where explosions flashed in the distance. “I’ll never be yours,” she said. But she could not stop the anger from rising in her; it continued to grow, expanding until it seemed to fill every inch of her. She could see herself picking up her lightsaber, see its green blade striking the Emperor down. If she did not do it now, she would be condemning the Rebel Alliance to die.

She spun around to face the Emperor, stretching out her hand and calling her lightsaber into her palm. It reacted readily, and she ignited the blade, swiping it down towards Palpatine in one powerful arc—

A red blade stopped her, clashing against her lightsaber before she even had the chance to strike. It was Vader’s weapon, pulled from his belt and ignited in seconds. She looked up at him, and his impassive, emotionless mask stared back. The lightsaber blades sparked and hissed as they pressed together, crossed in front of the Emperor’s face. Vader said nothing, and Palpatine laughed, the glee on his face unmistakable.

She had done exactly as he wanted.

◊◊◊

“Artoo, where are you?” Luke yelled into his commlink, eyes scanning the trees for any sign of the little blue astromech. He could see the heads of stormtroopers and black-helmeted officers, peeking out from behind logs and boulders. Red blaster bolts sailed in every direction, and the air was heavy with smoke and the smell of burnt ozone. He could barely hear himself over the sound of constant blasterfire and explosions from the distant AT-STs. “We need you at the bunker, right now!”

A few seconds later a static-filled reply of beeps and whistles came through, one that Luke hoped meant R2 was on his way.

He looked again to the sky. If things had gone as scheduled, the Alliance fleet should be up there right now. They were expecting the shield to have been down on their arrival, and Luke hoped that they had realized it was still up before things had gone too desperately wrong. As it stood, things had probably gone wrong either way, and if they didn’t get the shield down soon, they could get even worse.

He flinched as a blaster bolt exploded into the metal wall above his head, and let off a few of his own shots into the woods. There was no way of knowing how things were progressing deeper into the forest with their Ewok allies, but he hoped it was going at least slightly better than it was for them. If they didn’t get into the bunker, they would die there, pinned down by a dozen troopers, and the Alliance would have no chance in hell of taking down the Death Star.

A flash of metal shone in the corner of Luke’s eye, and he turned to see 3PO stumbling through the forest towards them, R2 not far behind him.

“We’re coming!” 3PO cried, narrowly avoiding a bolt to the head.

“Come on, come on!” Han yelled, waving them forward.

Luke and Han laid down covering fire for the droids as they hurried across the clearing, keeping the attacking troopers occupied until R2 and 3PO were huddled in the bunker doorway with them.

“Do you think you can get us in here?” Luke asked R2, motioning with his head to the bunker door.

R2 beeped an affirmative and rolled over to the control panel, sticking his computer arm into the terminal. He gave it a few spins, scanning for a way to open the door, while Han kept him covered, trading shots with a stormtrooper camped out nearby. One of the trooper’s laser bolts blasted into the ground near Han’s feet, and he flinched back, long enough for the trooper to take another shot. This one struck R2, right where his computer arm met the terminal.

It sparked violently, sending R2 rocketing back with a screech. He stood there for a moment, whimpering, before he short-circuited, all of his appendages and attachments shooting out from his body and swinging around wildly. Sparks danced around him and smoke seemed to blow out of every hole, reeking of burnt wires.

“My goodness!” 3PO cried, looking down at his injured friend. “Artoo, why did you have to be so brave?”

“Well,” Han said, “I guess I could hotwire this thing.”

Luke nodded. “I’ll keep you covered,” he said, moving to crouch down in front of Han as he opened a panel on the side of the doorway and ripped out the wires.

The sounds of battle continued on in the distance, but it was impossible to tell who was winning. The troopers in the bushes kept firing on them, and Luke kept firing back. Behind him, he could hear Han mumbling to himself as he messed with the wires, trying to get the exposed ends to connect in just the right way. R2 had stopped moving entirely and now sat silently, his lights dim and smoke still wafting from head.

Two bolts exploded into the wall beside Luke, and he flinched away, hot sparks brushing his cheek. He responded in kind, but couldn’t tell if he’d actually hit anything; the bushes made it difficult to see his targets, and he had no idea how many troopers were currently firing on him.

“I think I got it!” Han cried. “I got it!” There was a mechanical whir, and Luke looked back to see a second set of blast doors closing over the already-sealed doorway. Han frowned, and Luke gave him an irritated glare.

“Do you have _any_ idea what you’re doing?” he asked.

“What do you think, kid?” Han replied with a scowl.

“Here, let me try.” Luke stood and tugged Han away from the panel.

“What, like you know what to do?”

“Well I’m not going to make the situation _worse_ , am I?”

Luke turned to the panel, pulling up all his knowledge of mechanics as he assessed the situation. Han shuffled past to stand in front of him, and just as he was about to drop down into a crouch, there was a flash of red and a blaster bolt struck him in the side. He fell back into Luke with a cry, before dropping to his knees, hands going to the wound.

“Han!” Luke cried, quickly moving to kneel beside him. “Are you alright?”

Han winced, hissing sharply as he settled back into a sitting position. “Yeah, I’ll be fine,” he said, his voice strained. “It’s not too bad.”

Luke frowned, trying to see the wound around Han’s fingers. He couldn’t tell how serious it really was, and Han likely wasn’t going to tell him outright. If the bolt had just grazed him, he would be fine, but if it had pierced any part of his abdomen, they would need to get him to a medic as soon as possible. There was one with them, amongst the Pathfinders, but Luke didn’t know where she was or if she was still alive; even if she was, they were still pinned down in this doorway, with no visible way out.

“Freeze!”

The voice came from behind him. He recognized it instantly as a stormtrooper’s voice.

“Don’t move!”

Luke went still. His back was still turned to the stormtroopers, and he had no idea how many of them there were; at least two, he guessed, maybe more. He had put his blaster back into its holster, and there was no way for him to get it out; any movement towards his weapon and he’d end up with a laserbolt in his back.

“Hands up!” the trooper ordered. “On your feet!” Luke did as he said, standing slowly and raising his hands above his head. He turned to face the troopers, while Han remained on the ground. There were only two of them, but they both had blaster rifles, aimed directly at his chest.

It was truly over, then. They had failed to get into the bunker and deactivate the shield generator, and so the Alliance would be destroyed, all of this effort for nothing. He and Han would be captured and more than likely executed. There was no saying what would become of Leia, if she even survived her confrontation with Vader, and Chewie had vanished into the forest as soon as the fighting began. He could be dead or injured or captured, just as they were about to be.

And Lando. Lando was up there with the Alliance fleet, fighting against an enemy much stronger than they were. Hopefully, the fleet would realize that there was no way for them to get past the Death Star’s shield, and they would retreat before the losses became too heavy. Before Lando ended up hurt or killed.

The two troopers moved towards him, and Luke looked nervously to Han. He was quite pale, but there was no pain or fear in his eyes when his gaze met Luke’s. Behind the troopers, an AT-ST rumbled into the clearing, its large mechanical joints clattering as it moved. Luke couldn’t even find it in himself to be disheartened. Its appearance did not change the situation much — he couldn’t take it on any more than he could take on two armed stormtroopers. It was added muscle in a situation already taken care of. It stopped about midway through the clearing, its two front-mounted cannons pointed at the bunker door.

But then the head swivelled just slightly and the cannons fired, the lasers exploding into the ground directly behind one of the stormtroopers and sending both flying. Luke moved his hands to cover his face, protecting it from the flying earth sent up by the explosion, and when he looked back up the hatch on top of the AT-ST had opened and Chewie’s head was poking out, regarding them in concern.

“Chewie!” Luke cried. “What are you doing in there?”

Chewie growled a response, beginning what sounded like a rather long and complicated explanation, but Luke cut him off with a wave. “No, never mind, it doesn’t matter,” he said. “Just get down here! Han’s hurt!”

“Wait.” Han reached out with one hand, grabbing Luke’s wrist. He looked to the AT-ST, where Chewie still stood halfway out of the hatch. “I got an idea.”

◊◊◊

Leia’s blade clashed against Vader’s, green striking red in a flurry of blinding light and quick movements. He parried each of her blows, but she did the same to him, blocking and then striking in quick succession. It felt completely different from their duel on Bespin; then, he had merely been toying with her, trying to feel out her level of skill. Now, they were truly fighting. The months had given her more confidence, and Vader was no longer holding back.

This would not end as it had on Bespin, with her injured and running away. Everything ended here.

Vader swiped his blade towards her, and Leia ducked, vaulting to the side. She sprung up, stabbing her lightsaber at his shoulder, but he spun and knocked it aside. She stumbled, the force of the blow nearly sending her off balance, but as Vader lumbered towards her, blade raised, she kicked out. Her foot struck him in the gut, the Force rocketing down her leg and connecting with him, sending him flying backwards. He landed on his back near the far window, and Leia stood up fully, breathing hard.

From his throne, the Emperor laughed. “Good,” he said. “Use your aggressive feelings, young one. Let the hate flow through you.”

Leia glanced to him, readjusting her grip on her ‘saber, and then looked back to her father, who was slowly climbing to his feet. It was not just her increased confidence that had changed this fight, she realized. She was stronger — her blows were more powerful, more brutal. She was able to match Vader because, like him, she was drawing her strength from her anger, from her rage and her hate towards him and the Emperor and everything wrong in the galaxy.

For a moment, she hesitated. This wasn’t the Jedi way. She should not be using her anger to fuel her, no matter how powerful it made her.

But even Ben had known that she would need to destroy Vader; he had known it for much longer than she had. And she could not destroy him if he was more powerful than she was.

She strode towards Vader, lightsaber still humming in her hand. He was standing now, watching her carefully. This was the only way she could end it all.

Leia lunged for him, and he parried. Their blades duelled, sparking with each clash. She pulled up all the roiling emotions she felt and channelled them into her weapon, into every strike and blow. She swung and Vader blocked her, their hissing blades locked as he stepped menacingly forward. Leia remained where she was, tightening her grip on the hilt of her lightsaber as Vader put more and more pressure on it.

She could feel him reaching out to her, stretching towards her through the Force. She didn’t know what he was looking for, or what he wanted her to discover, but she didn’t wait to find out. Twisting her blade against his, she broke the lock and jumped back. Vader’s thoughts pulled back from hers and he swung. She ducked to avoid his blade and scurried away, but he followed her, lightsaber raised above his head. She backed up as he approached, until she hit against the ledge of a raised platform. It was small and rounded, surrounded by screens that were likely used for controlling the Death Star and checking its progress.

Vader stopped only a foot or two in front of her, lightsaber still poised to strike. They stared at each other for only the briefest of moments, and though she couldn’t see them, Leia could sense his eyes meeting hers through the tinted lenses of his mask.

Then she jumped, propelling herself up onto the platform just as Vader let his blade fall. It slashed into one of the computers, creating an eruption of sparks, and Leia jumped again, this time much higher. She landed on a catwalk suspended above the throne room, meters above Vader and the Emperor. Her eyes remained locked on her father, and she extinguished her lightsaber, her hand falling limply at her side.

He had hesitated.

When the chance had arisen to strike her down, Vader had hesitated.

He stood below the catwalk, like a predator waiting for its prey. Leia tried to reach out to him, to sense his emotions, as he had done to her only moments before. She found them a jumble inside of him, the anger and hate mixing with something Leia was incapable of describing and which, before now, had been hidden from her. It was softer, a spot of light within all that darkness, but Leia did not know if it was love or simply the last vestige of goodness clinging to his fractured soul. She could feel it struggling, trying to grow brighter and chase away the dark. There was no way of knowing if it had always been there, hiding itself and biding its time, or if it had been awakened by something.

By her, perhaps.

The anger began to seep out of her, like moisture evaporating in the hot Tatooine suns.

“There is conflict in you,” she said. “I can sense it.”

Vader stepped forward, and Leia took a step to the side, worried he might try to jump up onto the catwalk with her. “There is no conflict,” he insisted.

She shook her head. “You won’t kill me,” she said. “You can’t bring yourself to.”

“You underestimate the power of the dark side.”  

She had thought him lost, taken wholly by darkness all those years ago. Ben and Yoda had thought so as well. Even Vader seemed certain he was beyond salvation, though Leia did not know if that was because he did not want to be saved or because he did not think he could be.

“Come down and fight,” Vader said, lifting his ‘saber towards her. “I will show you there is no conflict.”

“No.” Leia shook her head again. Perhaps Luke had been right; if she could just talk to Vader, remind him of who he had once been and show him that he did not have to do as his master said. She could show him the light that still lived within him. She could save him.

“I will not fight you,” she said.

“Then you will meet your destiny.”

Vader reached his arm back and threw his lightsaber, sending it wheeling through the air towards her. She ducked out of the way and it sliced through the catwalk, disconnecting it from the ceiling and sending her rolling down onto the ground. She scrambled away, crawling behind the nearby staircase and retreating into the darkness beneath the platform on which the Emperor’s throne sat.

Up above, she could hear Palpatine laughing and Vader’s boots clanging against the metal platform as he made his way to the stairs. He descended them slowly, and Leia tightened her grip on her lightsaber hilt, trying to steady her breathing.

She did not want to kill her father, not now that she knew he could be saved. But she would not hesitate if she needed to.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> probably only one chapter left!


	9. Chapter 9

With the AT-ST on their side, it was not difficult for the Rebels to gain control of the area around the bunker. Within minutes it was clear of any stormtroopers or Imperial officers, and Luke was able to round up all the nearby Ewoks, aided by Leia’s little friend, Wicket. Once everyone was assembled, he helped Han onto a stump a bit deeper into the forest, out of sight of the bunker doors.

“Do you really think this plan of yours is going to work?” Luke asked, eyeing Han uncertainly.

“Hey, come on, Your Worship,” Han said, a bit breathless from the pain. “Have a little faith. With you in charge, I’m sure it’ll all go smoothly.”

Luke sighed, helping Han to settle onto the stump. “You better hope so,” he said. “I don’t think the Empire will invest much in your medical care.”

“I told you, I’m fine.” Han waved him off with a flap of his hand. “Now go. We haven’t got all day.”

That, at least, was true. Luke stepped back with a nod, then turned and retreated through the forest, back to the clearing. The Ewoks and Pathfinders had all taken up their positions behind the bunker, so the clearing now stood empty, save for the AT-ST. Chewie stood halfway out of the walker’s hatch, and he growled loudly as Luke appeared out of the woods.

“I’m coming, I’m coming!” he called, breaking out into a jog. They had parked the walker near a large fallen log, to allow for easier access through the top hatch. Luke scurried up the log, and Chewie extended a hand, hauling him the rest of the way up. After Chewie had ducked back inside the AT-ST, Luke lowered himself in through the hatch, into the cramped cockpit.

The helmet of an Imperial commander rested on one of the seats, and Luke pulled it on over his head as Chewie began to move the walker into position in front of the bunker. With the guns pointed at the doors, Luke opened a communications channel between the AT-ST and the bunker. The controllers inside quickly picked up, and a small, static-covered hologram of the bunker commander appeared on the walker’s dash.

The camera projecting Luke’s image into the bunker was framed closely on his face, so as not to reveal his lack of any uniform besides a helmet, or the fact that he was accompanied by a Wookiee. He held the communicator close to his face, hiding most of it from view, though he guessed that his own picture was just as blurry as the hologram.

“It’s over, Commander,” he said, adding a slight Coruscant lilt to his voice, one that he had heard many times in the Imperial Senate. “The Rebels have been routed. They’re fleeing into the woods. We need reinforcements to continue the pursuit.”

The commander almost looked excited as he turned to address an out-of-shot officer. “Send three squads to help,” he ordered. “Open the back door.”

The officer’s response was quiet, but just audible. “Yes, sir.”

Luke ended the communication and tore the helmet off his head. “Let’s go,” he said to Chewie, pulling open the hatch and hoisting himself up onto the walker’s roof. He climbed carefully down to the ground, scrambling along the skinny, bird-like legs until he was low enough to jump. Chewie quickly followed suit.

The two of them took their positions on either side of the bunker’s doors, pressed tight to the slanted metal wall with their weapons drawn. Only a second or two later, Luke heard the two pairs of doors retreat, and a squad of stormtroopers and officers ran out, heading for the trees. Luke and Chewie both jumped in front of the open doorway. The squad of Imperials faltered when they noticed the AT-ST aimed at them, not knowing it was unmanned, and they looked back to the door just as the recruited Ewoks jumped out from their hiding spots behind the bunker and amongst the trees in the forest.

They quickly surrounded the Imperials, and Luke gave them a quick smile and a salute before turning and hurrying into the bunker. He was followed by Chewie and a handful of the Pathfinders, one of whom had recovered the bag full of charges. The controllers and commander were still in the bunker control room when the Rebels arrived, but with the element of surprise and a handful of blasters on their side, they were easily taken care of.

The Rebels set to work immediately, pulling out charges and placing them around the room. Chewie took care of the generator room, putting enough explosives in there to take out a Star Destroyer. Working quickly, it didn’t take them long before the entire bunker was rigged to blow.

Luke scanned the room for the detonator. He had left it behind in the control room when they had first been captured, but it was nowhere to be found now. Which meant that they couldn’t activate the charges remotely.

“We’ll have to arm them manually,” he said, looking to the gathered soldiers. “Once the first one is armed, we’ll only have about a minute to get out of here before it goes off. Understand?”

The Pathfinders all voiced their understanding and, once all the charges were in place, they began the quick work of arming them. All it took was the press of a button, and the timer began. Within moments, they had them all armed and counting down.

“Alright, let’s go!” Luke ordered, and they all took off in a sprint. “Move, move!”

They raced from the bunker, into the now-empty clearing. As per Luke’s instructions, the Ewoks had detained the captured Imperials and taken them away, out of the blast zone of the bunker. Luke, Chewie, and the Pathfinders scurried into the trees, ducking behind boulders and logs. Luke turned his face away, tucking it down in his arms, just as the bunker exploded, a ball of fire shooting out from the open doorway. In the distance, there was a great roar as flames erupted into the sky, tearing apart the giant satellite that projected the shield around the Death Star.

Looking up, Luke nearly collapsed in relief, a giant smile stretching across his face.

They’d done it.

◊◊◊

Leia sat with her back against the wall, holding herself perfectly still as she watched Vader stalk beneath the platform. His lightsaber hummed in his hand, and his harsh breathing echoed through the room, scraping harshly in her ears. He moved slowly and deliberately, his eyes roving the darkened space underneath the platform, looking for her.

“You cannot hide forever, Leia,” he said.

She didn’t respond, clenching her jaw and squeezing her eyes shut. She did not want to hide forever, but she did not want to fight him, either — she did not want to be forced to kill him.

Her thoughts strayed to Luke, miles and miles below her on the forest moon. He had believed there was still good in their father, despite all that Vader had done to him and despite the fact that he hadn’t felt that good himself. He had simply believed it was there, because he believed there was good in nearly everybody.

And he had been right. Leia had sensed it, weak though it was. But she did not know if she could save someone who did not want to be saved, and Vader seemed intent on hunting her down, prowling around her like a nexu after its prey. The longer she delayed, the longer she left her friends in danger. The fleet was slowly being decimated, and there was no saying what had become of the strike team down on Endor. The image flashed through her mind of Luke and Han lying crumpled on the forest floor, dead and riddled with blaster holes. She didn’t know if she would ever forgive herself if they were killed.

She took a deep breath, trying to push the thoughts away, but once they had come they would not leave. She saw Han, his goofy smile on his face, his rough hands gently stroking her cheeks, and she saw Luke, so full of kindness and strength, his arm thrown across her shoulders. And she saw Chewie and R2 and 3PO, all her friends and companions of the last four years.

She would not let their deaths be on her hands.

“Give yourself to the dark side,” Vader said, his voice pulling her back to reality, to the cramped space beneath the Emperor’s platform. “It is the only way to save your friends.”

Her breath hitched in her throat and, panicked, she shoved the thoughts from her mind, trying to get them out of Vader’s reach.

He seemed to sense her panic, and an almost amused tone coloured his voice. “Yes, your thoughts betray you. Your feelings for them are strong. Especially for that scoundrel and…” He paused, and a flash of surprise rippled through the Force. “Brother! So, you have a twin brother.”

Leia opened her eyes, staring blindly into the darkness. Her mind cried out for Luke, for her betrayal of him. She had lost control of her thoughts and now he was found out, in more danger than he had been before. Now that Vader knew of his existence, he would not stop until Luke was in his clutches, too.

“Obi-Wan was wise to hide him from me,” Vader continued. “Now, his failure is complete. If you will not turn to the dark side, then perhaps _he_ will. And as for that scoundrel of yours… he will be taken care of easily.”

Leia’s breath quickened, her hand tightening around her lightsaber. She could see Vader’s dark form, only a few feet away. Her thoughts lingered again on Luke and Han… She would not let any harm come to them.

Not if she could stop it.

Igniting her blade, she charged towards Vader. He turned quickly, blocking her blow with his own ‘saber. Leia stepped back and swung again, barely even seeing where she was directing her blade. It sparked against metal beams and scraped along the bottom of the platform, but she hardly noticed. All she could think of was Han and Luke, and protecting them from Vader — of stopping him, once and for all.

She was angry, and her fury only grew with every swipe of her lightsaber. She could feel it racing through her veins like some sort of maddening drug, making her stronger than she could ever be otherwise. It powered every blow, every swing of her arms, as she pounded on Vader, blind in her need to eradicate the threat that his existence posed. She was mad at him. She was mad at him for threatening Luke, her brother, who had seen the good in him when no one else had even thought to look for it, even though there had never been any evidence of it. She was mad at him for threatening Han, solely because Leia loved and cared for him. She was mad at him for killing Ben, for being so willing to kill her, his own daughter, for falling to the dark side in the first place, all those years ago.

She couldn’t save him. There may still have been good in him, but it was buried far too deep. He may have hesitated to strike her, but he had still let his blade fall. She had given him the chance not to fight, and he had refused. He did not want to be saved, and so she would not waste time on the attempt.

She pushed forward, sending Vader into a retreat out from under the platform. He seemed almost taken aback by the strength of her blows, barely able to block them before another one was swinging his way. He was able to get in a few of his own hits, but Leia parried them with ease, striking back with increasing force. Their blades hissed with every crash, and Leia pressed her advantage, pushing Vader away from the platform and towards the deep chasm that opened up near the front of the room.

Her mind was a blur, and all she could think of was the next strike, the next collision of their blades. Vader retreated onto the bridge that led to the turbolift, and Leia swung, her lightsaber connecting with the metal railing. It sparked and Vader stepped away. Leia swung again and Vader just barely blocked her blow, flinching back. Her lightsaber exploded into the other railing as she pursued him, swinging wildly with no technique or strategy behind her attacks.

Vader ducked to avoid her blade and stumbled to the side, collapsing against the railing. Leia turned to him and, both hands on the hilt of her ‘saber, swung it at him again and again. He held up his own lightsaber in a weak defence, but Leia kept up her hammering, each blow stronger than the last until finally she wrenched the weapon from his hand, sending it tumbling over the railing into the abyss below. Carried by her own momentum, she didn’t even realize he was defenceless until her blade was already swinging down towards him. With no weapon to block her, Leia’s ‘saber sliced through Vader’s wrist, separating hand from arm.

As he had done to her.

Vader cried out and fell back, his severed arm held up in front of him. Leia was surprised to see that it was not flesh that she had revealed, but rather mechanics and wiring, the ends sparking and smoking. He had already lost his hand, and likely most of his arm, in some long-ago battle. Leia finally paused, breathing heavily as she looked down on her fallen father. She wondered how many more of his limbs were metal and wires instead of flesh and blood — how much of him was still human.

The Emperor’s cackling cut through the room, and Leia looked over her shoulder to see him slowly descending the stairs towards them. He stopped near the bottom, observing the two of them with obvious pleasure. “Good,” he crooned. “Your hate has made you powerful. Now, fulfill your destiny and take your father’s place at my side!”

Leia’s breath came in heaves. He wanted her to kill Vader. He didn’t just want her as one of his apprentices — he wanted her as his only apprentice. She looked back to her father, still lying on the ground with his arm raised. Had he known this was the Emperor’s plan — to replace him with someone much younger, with more potential?

She could do it so easily. Her blade rested just inches above his chest. All it would take was one quick movement to plunge it through his heart.

But that was what the Emperor wanted. If she killed her father now, knowing that, she would lose herself. She would not be Leia Skywalker, not anymore. She would be tool of the Emperor, as her father was.

That was not what she wanted. She did not want to kill her father; even if the Emperor hadn’t want her to either, she didn’t know if she would be able to bring herself to do it, no matter what her anger told her. There was still good in him, and even if he didn’t recognize it, she did, and so did Luke. He had asked her not to kill him, and she had given up so easily, falling instead into a pit of hatred and rage.

Her eyes strayed to Vader’s sparking wrist, where she had cut off his hand, and she flexed the fingers of her own mechanical limb. If she killed him now, she would not save him. She would become him, more so than she already had. She had let her anger and her fear for her friends overcome her and take control, blinding herself to reason.

She would not let herself be lost, as Vader had.

She would not become her father.

Straightening, Leia extinguished her lightsaber and turned fully to face the Emperor. “No,” she said, tossing the ‘saber onto the ground at her feet. “I’ll never turn to the dark side. I am a Jedi, as my father once was. As I always will be.”

A look of thinly-veiled confusion and surprise passed over the Emperor’s wrinkled face. It quickly gave way to anger. “So be it…” he said, and his lips curled back in disgust. “…Jedi.” He continued slowly down the rest of the steps, lifting one claw-like hand towards her. “If you will not be turned… you will be destroyed.”

He raised the other hand, and then suddenly lightning was shooting from his fingertips, rushing through the air towards her. It struck her in the side, spreading quickly throughout the rest of her body. She cried out, falling to the ground on her hands and knees as the pain rocketed through her. It was more excruciating than anything she had ever felt, as if fire ran in her veins instead of blood, burning her from the inside out. It vibrated through her body, and the pain remained even when, after only a few seconds, Palpatine stopped the flow of electricity.

She felt hot and shaky, and she collapsed onto her side, unable to hold herself up with her arms. Her breath came in pants, and she blinked hard, trying to chase away the blackness encroaching on the edges of her vision.

“Young, foolish girl,” Palpatine said. “Only now, at the end, do you understand.” And then he lifted his hands again, and the lightning coursed once more through Leia’s body. All she could feel was the pain, and all she could see was the blue lightning dancing over her body. The Emperor sent it in short bursts, giving her only a few seconds to recover between each blast. She curled in on herself, bringing her legs up to her chest as if that might protect her from the brutal electrocution. She could feel herself slipping, her vision growing darker and darker with each hot burst of lightning, her mind barely clinging to consciousness.

“Your feeble skills are no match for the power of the dark side.” The Emperor’s voice was quiet and far away, just barely audible over the ringing that echoed in her ears and the comforting draw of unconsciousness. “You have paid the price for your lack of vision.”

She looked up at him as another flare of lightning burst through her body. Everything blurred and swam in front of her, but she could just barely make out the shape of Vader’s dark form lingering beside the Emperor. She didn’t know when he had struggled to his feet, but he watched her now, completely still despite his injuries.

The lightning subsided, and Leia’s head dropped back to the floor. She wouldn’t be able to take any more. Waves of unconsciousness lapped at her mind, trying to lull her into their embrace. And she wanted to go — she wanted desperately to be free of this pain. But if she went, she did not know if she would ever come back, and so she forced herself to stay, as long as she possibly could.

“Help…” she whispered. Her mouth felt dry and the words just barely scratched their way up her throat and past her lips. She didn’t know who was there to help her, but she just knew that she didn’t want to die. Not then, not yet. “Please… help me…”

She was like a child, injured and frightened, calling out for their parent.

More lightning tore through her, and with the last of her strength she screamed, her addled mind searching for some way to get rid of the pain. She didn’t know if she could ever stop screaming.

“Now, young Skywalker…” the Emperor’s voice sliced through the pain and the screams, telling her what she had already given in to. “You will die.”

There was no one to save her.

She was going to die writhing on this hard black floor, with lightning coursing through her veins.

The Emperor sent another burst of lightning towards her, even more intense and painful than all the rest, if that was even possible. She knew that he would not let up until she was dead, but her stubborn body refused to give in, and she kept screaming, even as it felt like she was being torn open.

But then the lightning stopped, and she wasn’t dead. Stale, recycled air filled her lungs, and she opened her eyes to find herself still on the floor of the Death Star’s throne room, injured but alive. Confused, she weakly lifted herself up onto one elbow.

She saw Vader, the Emperor held high above his head, struggling towards the shaft at the front of the room. Lightning still sparked off the Emperor’s hands, but now it ran through Vader’s body, ravaging through his life support suit. The Emperor cried out, enraged, but despite his lightning, he was helpless to save himself as Vader stumbled against the railing and let go, sending his master plummeting down into the abyss. A few seconds later there was a quiet, distant explosion, and a plume of blue smoke blew up and into the room, before being quickly and silently sucked back down the chasm.

The Emperor was dead, killed by Darth Vader.

Her father had saved her.

He leaned now against the railing. His suit wheezed as it tried desperately to breathe for him, too damaged by the lightning to work properly. Somehow, Leia managed to struggle to her feet and hobble over to him, taking his shoulders in her hands and pulling him gently away from the railing. He fell helplessly into her lap, and Leia stared in awe at his masked face.

He had saved her. He had killed the master he had served faithfully for over twenty years, to save her.

“Father…” she whispered, taking his one remaining hand in hers. His metal fingers curled weakly around her palm, and he gasped and choked as he tried to push words from his failing lungs.

“Leia…”

She could feel the light in him, strengthened now, overpowering the dark. No walls tried to block her as she probed his feelings, finding the hate and rage replaced by love and calm. She felt tears prick her eyes as she sat there, holding her father in her arms.

He had not only killed his master when he had thrown Palpatine down the reactor shaft — he had also killed Darth Vader, and the man he had become those years ago when he had let the dark side overtake him. Anakin Skywalker lived once more.

“I’m…” she began, trying to search for the right words. She wanted to tell him so much — how thankful she was to him for saving her, how she wished she could have believed there was still good in him sooner. She did not know if she had fully forgiven him yet; more than anything she wanted to understand why he had turned to the dark side, why he had felt himself to be without any other option. But there was no time for that. She didn’t know if there ever would be.

The floor beneath her shook with the vibrations of some distant explosion, and Leia looked up, away from her father’s face to one of the large windows on the throne room walls. The battle taking place outside had grown closer, and the pieces of wrecked ships floated amongst those still standing. But the explosion had not come from the battle — something had struck the Death Star itself.

Another blast rumbled through the station. The strike team on Endor must have succeeded in taking down the shield generator.

The Death Star was under attack.

◊◊◊

Somehow Leia managed to stand. Her body still ached and burned from the Emperor’s lightning, but there was no time for her to stop and recuperate. If the shield was down, then the Rebellion’s attacks on the Death Star were aiming to kill. It could blow any minute, and she had no intention of still being on it when that happened. Not anymore.

But her father couldn’t walk. He could hardly even breathe, if the increasingly laboured wheezes coming from his suit were any indication. The Emperor’s lightning had wreaked havoc on a body that was already too weak to survive without support. The suit was barely functional, and Leia didn’t have the means or the time to fix it. He was going to die before they could get to help, of that she was almost certain.

But she couldn’t leave him there.  

It was likely the sheer drive to make it out that allowed her to drag him the few metres to the turbolift. He was over a foot taller than her, and his suit and artificial limbs only made him heavier, but she did it somehow, her sore arms heaving as she pulled him across the polished black floor.

The shuttle that had brought them to the Death Star was probably still docked in the hangar, and so that was where she sent the turbolift. Explosions continued to rock the station as they shot down, increasing steadily in frequency and violence. It likely wouldn’t be long now.

As the turbolift slowed to a stop, Leia helped her father struggle to his feet, throwing one heavy arm across her shoulders. Together, they stumbled down the hallway towards the hangar, as klaxons began to blare around them.

The docking bay, almost entirely abandoned just an hour ago, was now mired in chaos. Stormtroopers and black-clad officers ran in every direction, abandoning their posts and making for ships that would take them away from the doomed space station. The wailing alarms mixed with the sounds of panicked shouts, but no one paid Leia any mind as she half-carried her injured father towards the shuttle. She guessed that the only reason it had not already been pirated by the fleeing Imperial troops was because they had recognized it as Darth Vader’s shuttle, but none of them seemed to care or notice that that very same man was now being dragged, fatally injured, across the hangar floor. They were far too concerned with their own personal safety at the moment, and that suited Leia fine. The last thing she needed was to be hounded by a dozen armed stormtroopers.

The shuttle’s gangplank was still lowered, and Vader hobbled towards it, finally collapsing as they reached it. Leia helped him to lie down, grabbing his arm and preparing to haul him the rest of the way into the shuttle.

“No,” he rasped, and she paused. “Please, help me take this mask off.”

She dropped his arm and kneeled down in front of him. “We’re almost there,” she said. “We need to leave.”

“I am going to die no matter what,” he said. “Just for once… let me look on you with my own eyes.”

Leia thought for a moment, considering, and then, slowly, she nodded. She knew there was nothing she could do to save him, not anymore, and so she gently lifted off the top part of his helmet, releasing it from the rest of his suit with a quiet hiss. Setting it aside, she peeled away the mask, and revealed the face beneath.

It was both what she had expected to see and nothing like what she had imagined. His skin was pale, ashen grey and covered in scars. She could see the remnants of garish wounds along the top of his bald head and across his right cheek. She had known that some brutal injury had left him unable to survive outside of a life support suit, and so she had expected his face to show evidence of that. But some part of her had still clung to the image she had conjured up as a child, of a heroic father with a kind smile and her own brown eyes and brown hair.   

Anakin Skywalker’s eyes were blue like the afternoon sky, the same shade as Luke’s.

Weakly, her father lifted his hand and placed it gently on her cheek. She held it there, her fingers wrapping around the cool leather of his glove.

“You… look so much like your mother,” he whispered. Hearing his voice shocked her; it was nothing like the harsh mechanical baritone she was accustomed to. This was the voice of a dying man, soft and weak. He sucked in shallow, rasping breaths, his lungs struggling without the suit to breathe for him. “Now… you must go. Leave me.”

Leia shook her head, and a tear fell from her eye, rolling down her cheek to land on their hands. “I’m not going to leave you,” she said. She had known he was dying before they had even left the throne room, but now that it was actually happening, she didn’t want to acknowledge it. She had only just gotten him back — for the first time, she was talking to a man she could well and truly call her father. And he was dying.

“You must, Leia.” He lowered his hand, but she didn’t let go. His voice was weaker, his breaths shallower. She could feel his presence in the Force slowly leaking away, just as she had with Yoda. “I have already… been saved.” He struggled to catch his breath, to get more words out. “I’m… sorry. Tell… your brother… Tell Luke, I’m sorry.”

“I won’t leave you,” Leia said, but he was already gone. His eyes slipped closed and his head fell back, his final breath escaping his body like a sigh. The Force around him quieted and then dissipated, and Leia was left alone with the wailing klaxons and shuddering floor.

◊◊◊

Luke watched from the forest floor as the Death Star exploded, bursting apart in a ball of fire that filled the sky. Most of the remaining Imperials had fled after the shield generator was destroyed, leaving the Rebels and their Ewok allies to wait and see if their plan had succeeded.

And it had. The Death Star was gone and, if they were lucky, the Emperor had gone with it. Luke knew that didn’t mean the Empire was defeated — there was still an entire fleet out there, and millions of troops and officers who wouldn’t go down without a fight. But if the Emperor really was dead, that would mean those who remained were leaderless, weakened by the loss of their ruler and their most powerful weapon. The Rebellion could bring them down. It would take time, but they could do it.

The Ewoks and Rebels around him broke out into cheers, and Chewie roared loudly, raising both fists into the air. “They did it!” 3PO cried, looking down at R2, fully-functional again after only a small amount of tinkering by Luke.

Smiling, Luke looked to Han, who sat leaning against a log beside him. The blaster wound on his side had been wrapped tightly to stem the bleeding, and while the injury wasn’t life-threatening, he would need more proper medical care before the day was over. He watched the explosion slowly dissipating above them, but none of his comrades’ joy showed on his face.

“Leia…” he muttered.

“Don’t worry.” Luke placed a hand on Han’s shoulder, squeezing it tight. “She’s alright.” He didn’t know where she was, but he did know that she was alive. He knew it as surely as he knew that he himself was alive. She had made it off the Death Star before it exploded.

“How do you know?” Han asked, and Luke smiled again, softly, looking to the fizzling explosion above them.

“I can feel it,” he said. He glanced back at Han, and nearly laughed at his confused expression. “She’s my sister,” he explained.

That only seemed to worsen Han’s confusion. “Your… what? Since when?”

This time, Luke actually laughed. “Since we were born,” he said. “We only found out recently, though. Don’t worry. We’ll explain everything later.”

Han, his brows still furrowed, nodded. He seemed to keep trying to puzzle it out, until Wicket appeared from behind the log and grabbed Luke’s hand, pulling him to his feet and towards the celebrations.

◊◊◊

Leia escaped the Death Star just before it blew, piloting the shuttle out from the hangar and into the chaos of space. All the Rebel ships left standing were beating a fast retreat away from the superstation, and Leia pushed the shuttle as fast as it could go, directing it down towards the surface of Endor. She didn’t look back when the Death Star exploded, knowing it happened only because of the ripple it sent through the Force. Around her, space remained empty and quiet.

She had the rough coordinates for the Ewok village, but they weren’t the ones she plugged into the navigation. There was something she needed to do before she reunited with everyone.

Her father’s suit rested in the hold, empty and still. Anakin’s body, like Ben and Yoda’s, had disappeared after he died, vanishing into the Force and leaving behind only the heavy black suit. She needed to get rid of it — burn it or bury it, destroy it so no one could ever dig it back up again. For many, it was a symbol of the terror the Empire had subjected the galaxy to; for others, it was a symbol of their power and might. Either group would be glad to get their hands on it, to desecrate or venerate it as they saw fit. For that reason, Leia thought it best to rid the galaxy of it entirely — scratch away the last remnants of Darth Vader’s existence.

She landed the shuttle in a small clearing, far enough away from the Ewok village and the shield generator so as to not draw any attention. It was late afternoon, the sky just beginning to turn golden, and she worked for the next few hours, collecting logs and thick branches. She stacked them all together near the centre of the clearing, in a patch of dirt away from the trees and brush. The work went quickly enough with her lightsaber and the Force to help, but it was still dark by the time she finished, her father’s suit placed carefully at the top of the pyre.

She made a torch, setting it aflame using a lighter she found amongst the shuttle’s supplies. The pyre caught quickly, doused in fuel siphoned from the shuttle, and within seconds her father’s suit was ablaze, the cloth catching first before spreading to the leather and eventually the plastoid. The smell of burning wood mixed with chemicals and fuel, the flames rising as more and more of the pyre caught.

Leia stood there for several minutes, watching as the last bits of Darth Vader were burned away. Up above, fireworks exploded into the sky, distant and quiet but still visible. Fighters screeched past, spinning and rolling through the air as if their pilots were too overjoyed to control themselves. Everyone knew that it was only the beginning of the end for the Empire — that there were still more battles to win — but the Emperor was dead, and that was reason enough for a celebration.

She left the pyre burning and set off through the woods in the direction of the Ewok village. An Imperial shuttle would draw too much suspicion, and so she left it behind; she would return to the clearing in the morning, to bury whatever remained of her father’s suit and to deal with the ship. But for now, she just wanted to be with her friends — with Han, Luke, and everyone else.

It was not difficult to find the celebration. Bonfires were scattered throughout the forest around the village, with groups of Ewoks singing and dancing around them. The sound of instruments floated through the trees, mixed with cheers and laughter. Larger parties were gathered on the platforms of the village, the Rebels mingling with the Ewoks. Leia recognized many members of the strike team, but there were others there, too, people who had arrived with the fleet. The largest party was happening on the village’s main platform, where Luke, Han, Chewie, and the droids had all been put on trial only the day before. It felt like a decade had passed since then.

She could see her friends as she approached the platform. 3PO was dancing awkwardly with an Ewok, R2 spinning joyfully nearby. Wedge Antilles, still dressed in his orange flight suit, was dancing with a Pathfinder from the strike team, as an Ewok beat out a tune on the helmets of stormtroopers and Imperial officers. A bright bonfire burned in the centre of it all, illuminating the revellers as they danced and basked in their victory. Han sat on a bench off to the side, watching the celebrations with a small smile on his face and Chewie beside him. Luke stood nearby, leaning shoulder-to-shoulder with Lando, who seemed to be telling some fantastical tale, his hands waving as he spoke.

Her brother was the first to notice her. He moved away from Lando and hurried towards her as she stepped onto the platform, and they threw their arms around each other, holding each other close.

“You were right,” Leia said, loud enough for only Luke to hear. “He wanted you to know he was sorry.”

Luke looked at her, and he smiled, and Leia knew she didn’t have to say any more.

Han stood slowly from the bench and began to hobble towards them, wincing slightly with each movement. Leia pulled away from Luke and ran to meet him, her hands going to each shoulder. He had been injured somehow, but he was standing, and he smiled so widely at her that it didn’t seem to matter. They kissed, and Han held onto her as tightly as his injury would allow, one hand tangling in her hair.

“I love you,” he whispered, and she smiled into the cloth of his shirt.

“I know.”

After a few moments Leia peeled away, going off to greet Chewie, Lando, the droids, and everyone else. They all beamed at her, overjoyed by their success, and despite the whirlwind of emotions Leia had been through that day, she couldn’t help but feel it, too.

Then, off to the side, a soft glowing light caught her eye. She wandered towards it, to a quiet corner of the platform where no partyers lingered. There, she saw the ghost of Obi-Wan Kenobi, Yoda by his side, the two of them observing the celebration, and their young student, with pleased smiles on their faces. Leia smiled back, and as she watched, a third ghost appeared, materializing into existence beside Yoda. She didn’t recognize him immediately — he was young, dressed in the robes of a Jedi with shoulder-length wavy hair. But then he looked up at her, and she saw the eyes of her father, looking at her from the face of the man he had once been.

She said nothing — she just watched the three ghosts, her teachers and her father, until Luke’s hand on her shoulder pulled her away, and she went to rejoin her friends.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> and that's a wrap! almost a year after the first chapter of Another Hope was posted, I've finally finished this labour of love. I must say, when I first began developing ideas for Twin Suns back in October 2016, I never thought I would write this much. it was supposed to just be a quick little fic, with maybe a few chapters about how the original trilogy was effected. and yet over a year and a half later, here we are, at over 153k words.
> 
> I hope you have all enjoyed reading this series as much as I have enjoyed writing it. it got a bit tedious at times, when I had to rewatch the same movie scene a dozen times or search through a long script for one particular line, but it was, all in all, a very fun experience. I'll really miss this little au, and who knows, maybe I'll revisit it some time in 2020 when the sequel trilogy is all said and done, just to show how Leia Skywalker and Luke Organa are doing in 34 ABY.
> 
> in the meantime, I'm planning to start work on another fic sometime this summer. it'll be another Star Wars fic, centred once again on the Skywalker twins. I already have most of it planned, so it shouldn't be too long before the first chapter is out (hopefully). I hope to see some of you guys there :) 
> 
> finally, I'd like to thank everyone who read, commented on, and kudos'd all the fics in this series. your support means a lot to me, and I'm glad so many of you enjoyed this series. and thank you if you read all the way to the end of this long note! I promise I'm finished now!


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